


Summertime and the Living is Crazy

by Riyan_Blue



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Humor, M/M, Multi, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-10 10:15:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 67,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riyan_Blue/pseuds/Riyan_Blue
Summary: Summer Holidays... Harry gets an unusual visitor who asks him for help. HPDMOriginally posted on FanFiction.net. Also posting here in its entirety.Originally posted from 2006-2007It is very OOC and a little strange, but I like to think it's strange in a good way.COMPLETE





	1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter woke on that fateful day feeling oddly cheerful. He didn't know why, but he felt that this day was going to be a good one. He yawned and looked at his alarm clock. It read 9:38, a perfect time to get up. He got out of bed and threw some clothes on before going down to breakfast.

Uncle Vernon glared at him from over the morning paper. Dudley, who was slowly losing weight, didn't even look up from his piece of melon. He was busy trying to get every last little bit of the fruit from the rind. Aunt Petunia put Harry's slice of melon before him. He ate it cheerfully, and left the Dursleys to their own devices. He had homework to do, so he sauntered up to his bedroom and opened the door. He froze in his tracks. Draco Malfoy was standing there in his bedroom and holding Harry's wand which he had left on his bedside table.

"Ah, Harry, there you are!" Malfoy said, in a tone that suggested that he and Harry were friends rather than arch rivals.

"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing in my room? How on earth did you even know where I lived?" Harry asked. He was utterly confused.

"Well, I am a boots of most extraordinary cleverness," Malfoy replied. Harry blinked slowly at him. "Erm… forget I said that. I meant to say that I am  _very_ clever."

"Oh," said Harry simply, not really wanting to find out how Malfoy knew where he lived in case the answer was that Malfoy was stalking him. "But  _why_?"

"I have come to rescue you!" Malfoy said, striking a gallant pose. Harry nodded slowly, looking skeptical. "Actually, I need your help, and so need to take you away from this place."

"Um, OK. Sure, I guess, I mean I'm not really doing anything this summer," Harry replied. For some reason he didn't question Malfoy's reason for his help, but merely trusted him. "But you're going to have to explain this to my Aunt and Uncle."

"Ah yes. The Muggles." Malfoy sighed, looking bored. "Well, let's go then." He grabbed the astonished Harry by the hand and led him downstairs. Uncle Vernon glanced at Harry over the paper again before doing a double take.

"Harry," he said, in a voice of forced calm. "Who is this?" Malfoy walked up to Uncle Vernon and extended his hand.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, a," he paused, looking for the right word to use, "friend of Harry's. I was wondering if I could possibly have Harry to stay with me for the weekend." Uncle Vernon thought for a minute before minute before nodding and going back to the newspaper. Harry knew his Uncle didn't really care what happened to him and it was one fewer mouth to feed.

"Wonderful!" Malfoy said, "We'll just be going then! Good day to you sir!"

Harry was very confused. Malfoy was being nice, even friendly. 'It must be an act,' Harry thought. 'Either that, or Malfoy is high.' Malfoy grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen, leaving his stunned relatives behind. "Go and get your stuff." Malfoy said. "And be quick about it. Wait, can you do magic outside of school yet?" Harry shook his head. "Ha ha. Loser! I'd better come and help you then," he said. Harry scowled. It was only seven more days... Malfoy ignored the glare and followed Harry up the stairs to Harry's room where he packed all of Harry's things with a quick wave of his wand and very soon they were walking out the Dursley's front door.

Harry didn't know why Malfoy needed him, but he was sure it would be more interesting than staying at the Dursleys'.  _Anything_  would be more interesting than staying with the Dursleys. Plus he  _had_ stayed for the required month.

Malfoy had a regular, Muggle car with a chauffeur waiting outside. This puzzled Harry; the Malfoys had a Muggle car? Malfoy ushered Harry into the car and hurried in behind him.

"Now, to business," Malfoy said.

"Yes, Malfoy, why do you need my help, and for what?" Harry asked.

"I'm just about to tell you Potter. Calm down. Right so, Potter, as you know, we Malfoys are a pureblood family. This means that we have always married other purebloods. However, this usually means that we are forced into arranged marriages and to be honest, I don't want to marry someone my father hand picks for me." Harry nodded, this made sense, but he still didn't understand where he came into it. "Yes, well, my father wants me to marry Leticia Goyle, Greg's younger sister. He told me the other day and I needed a way out, so I told him I had a secret lover. I had to think fast you see and my father asked why my lover was a secret and I needed a  _really_  good reason for that. And then it hit me. I could say it was you. You weren't away for the summer, you had no doting parents who would try and keep you home, or care if I took you for the rest of the summer if I needed to. You were perfect,  _and_  of course I would want to keep you secret, you are the Boy-Who-Lived. I wouldn't want to tell my parents in a letter that I was seeing you, and you are a boy. You were perfect. So I told my parents and they suggested I invite you over for the rest of the summer. They didn't believe me, well, who could blame them! So I need you to help keep up my charade. Will you help me?" Malfoy looked hopefully at Harry.

"Help you… how?" Harry asked.

"Will you pretend to be my boyfriend?" Malfoy was practically pleading.

"What's in it for me?" Harry asked.

"Oh, how Slytherin of you!" Malfoy smirked. "Well, for starters, you will really piss off my Dad, and I  _know_  how much you hate him. And secondly, the Dark Lord often frequents our house. You could murder him in his sleep!" Malfoy look hopeful again.

"Yeah, or he could kill me." Harry muttered.

"No he couldn't, because Daddy told him not to because then he would get the blame as you were staying at his house." Harry raised an eyebrow at the word 'Daddy' but otherwise kept his face passive. "So will you do it?" Malfoy was looking very worried now. Harry thought about the matter carefully for a moment. He didn't particularly want to help Malfoy, but he sure as heck wanted to piss off his 'Daddy'. Plus, he had nothing else to do for the rest of that summer.

"Sure Malfoy. What the hell, I have nothing better to do." Harry paused. Malfoy smiled and looked relieved. "So… how long have we been going out?"

"Well, about three months I think." Harry nodded.

"How did we get together?"

"Well, I actually hadn't thought of that. Do you have any ideas?" Malfoy asked.

Harry thought of many ideas, each one more crazy than the last. The story had to be simple. That meant no rescuing Malfoy from the Giant Squid. Or rescuing him from the clutches of Acromantulae. Or from Centaurs. No, it had to be simple. Harry wasn't good at simple. He voiced the idea of something simple aloud and Malfoy nodded. Simple was easier said than done.

"How about I just asked you out one day?" Harry suggested.

"Why on earth would you do that?"

"'Cause I'm the Boy-Who-Lived and I'm bloody sexy and I can do whatever I want to, damn it!"

"Oh. Good reason, but why would I say yes?"

"Erm… Because I'm the Boy-Who-Lived and I'm bloody sexy?" Harry asked, hopefully.

"No. How about _I_ asked  _you_  out?"

"No! I'm so much sexier than you!"

"You  _so_  aren't, but if we are going to argue over this, then we should figure something else out." Malfoy said and they went back to thinking.

"How about you were dared to, and then we fell in love!" Harry said.

"No way, that sounds like some sort of rubbish plot line a Muggle would put on… oh what's it called? Vellytision, or something."

"Television?" Harry asked. Malfoy nodded. "OK. Here's one for you. How about I saved you from the Giant Squid?" he asked hopefully, praying that Malfoy would think that was in fact simple.

"Wow. You have a warped view of simple." Malfoy said. "Why don't we stick with one of us just asking the other out. You can be the asker if you really want."

"Wow Malfoy! Why are you backing down?" Harry asked.

"Because we're here." It was true; they were driving up the long driveway of the Malfoy Manor. Far in the distance, Harry could just about see the house. The Malfoys really had too much money. "Oh and Harry, you have to call me Draco. And make it convincing."

"Convincing? How?" Harry asked with trepidation.

"We're going out. We've probably been shagging like bunnies at school. Act like it." Harry paled, but realized he couldn't turn back now. He nodded and the chauffeur opened the door. They were still about 100 meters from the front door. Harry grabbed Draco's hand and they walked up to the door. As they reached it, the door was thrown open by Lucius Malfoy, who had apparently been waiting for them.

"Potter," he sneered. "Welcome. Let me show you to your room in the guest wing."

"No, no Lucius," said a woman's voice. Narcissa Malfoy stepped out from behind her husband. "We agreed to let Draco and Harry here share a room." She surreptitiously winked at her husband.

"What? Oh, yes. You and Draco will share a room. You've probably been shagging like bunnies at school anyway." He spat. Harry was stunned. So was Draco.

"But of course," Harry said, lying quickly and snaking an arm around Draco's waist. Lucius paled, but calmly ordered a house-elf to take Harry's things up to Draco's room.

"Well, how was your journey?" Narcissa asked.

"It was uneventful." Harry said truthfully. "It was really nice to see Draco again. We spent some time, erm, catching up." He smiled nervously.

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "I missed Harry." He leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek. Harry noticed how soft Draco's lips were before scolding himself. This was Draco Malfoy for heaven's sake! However he squeezed Draco's waist. He was playing boyfriend wasn't he? He could have some fun.

"OK, well you boys go and freshen up. Dinner is in an hour. Don't be late!" Narcissa said and Harry followed Draco to his room. It took them a good five minutes to get there.

"Sheesh, Draco," Harry said. "Your house is  _huge_."

"You don't say!" said Draco, pretending to be shocked at this statement. Harry hit him on the shoulder. " _Harry Potter is a sex god_."

"I'm a WHAT?"

"Sex god. I thought it would add to the believability of our story if I had that as my password. You should have seen my father's face! It was hilarious!" Harry was shocked to say the least, but then, why deny it?

"What was it before?"

"Oh, something boring and in Latin. Anyway, welcome to my room, Harry!" Draco opened the door with a flourish. The first thing that came to Harry's mind was ' _big and blue_.' The room was huge, with a four-poster bed against the far wall, opposite a large fireplace. The walls around the fireplace were covered in bookshelves, filled to the brim with an assortment of different books. A large bay window with a window seat was set in the wall opposite the door and adjacent to the bed. There was a desk with a large, executive looking chair behind the door, and two large armchairs in front of the fireplace.

"Um, where do I sleep?" Harry said sheepishly after a moment.

"Ah. That is a very good point. I guess my parents assumed since we're, ah, going out, we would share a bed." There was a long silence.

"Fine." This was going to be a  _strange_  summer. Draco looked at him strangely, but dropped his gaze after a moment.

"Well, make yourself at home then, Potter."

"My name is  _Harry_." Harry said.

"Fine. Make yourself at home,  _Harry_." Draco snapped. "We should leave for dinner in about half an hour, that way we'll get there on time." Harry had a sudden idea.

"Draco, we should make it look like we've been, ahem, doing things, when we go down." Draco smirked evilly and untucked his shirt. "You need to mess up your hair Draco." Harry reached over to do so and Draco hit his hand away.

"My hair is  _never_  messed up Potter… I mean Harry." He said as Harry shot him a look.

"Draco, are you trying to tell me that  _no matter what_  you do, your hair is  _always_  neat and tidy?" Harry smirked at him.

"Um. No. But," at this point Draco started to whine "I  _hate_ it when my hair is messy!"

"Tough," said Harry, "it's character building." He tackled Draco and began ferociously messing up the blonde's hair. Draco fought him off and surveyed the image in the mirror. His bottom lip started to quiver. "Oh  _come on_ , Draco. It's only hair." Harry said. Draco shot him a death glare and Harry rolled his eyes. After years of being rivals with Malfoy, that glare didn't frighten him any longer.

"You're mean, Harry." Draco sulked. "Oh, and do your buttons up wrong. You look too neat. Your hair is fine though." Harry smirked, even after years of trying his hair was as untamable as ever. Harry nodded and began to unbutton his shirt.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry nodded and began to unbutton his shirt. Draco's mouth went dry. The years of Quidditch training had been good to Harry and he had a tan from the summer. His abs were to  _die_  for. They were there, but not there and wow… 

Draco quickly looked away, and felt his cheeks flush ever so slightly. Harry didn't notice a thing. Draco knew he had chosen the right person to play his boyfriend. Harry was indeed very hot, and he wasn't afraid of a challenge however strange it might be. In fact Draco had had a small crush on Harry for a few years now, but he was in denial. However, seeing the Golden Boy here in his room unbuttoning his shirt had turned denial into a river in Africa and only a river in Africa. It hadn't been just a strange brain-wave in front of his parents when he said that Harry Potter was his secret boyfriend.

Draco swallowed hard. He would never admit it aloud, but his hair looked kind of good when it was messy. He looked more like a sex god than the porcelain doll that he normally looked like. It made him look  _wild_. Harry finished re-buttoning his shirt and looked Draco up and down.

"There's still something wrong. You don't look like you've been shagged silly. Come here," Harry said. Draco stepped tentatively forward. Harry cocked his head to the side. "Hmmm," he said. "I know what it is."

"What is it?" Draco asked, trying to keep his breathing under control in front of this undeniable sex god. His change of password was certainly true.

"You need to make your lips look like they've been kissed." Harry said simply.

"H-How do we do that?" Draco asked, hoping the only answer would be actually kissing.

"Well, there are three ways of doing it." Draco's heart sank. "One: We could actually kiss." Draco perked up, but hoped it wasn't visible. "But you wouldn't want to do that." Draco felt like screaming YEAH RIGHT before he realized that Harry hadn't actually said that he didn't want to. "Two: You could bite your lips. Or Three: You rub your lips with the back of your hand. Although that one doesn't work so well. Of course, I have to look the same, but it's your choice."

Draco thought for a moment. He knew which one he  _wanted_  to do, but how could he convince Harry it was all for the act? He didn't want Harry to know that he fancied him, so he would have to think of something  _fast_.

"I think we should kiss." Draco said and Harry's eyebrows shot up. "BECAUSE," Draco continued "We're going to need to  _accidentally_  kiss in front of my parents to make them believe us right? So we might as well get used to it." Draco gulped. He hoped Harry would believe this crap reason because Draco  _really_  wanted to kiss him. Harry's eyebrows didn't come down, but he nodded anyway.

"Come here then," Harry said. Draco stepped forward, tripped and fell into Harry's arms. "Well, that's one way of doing it." Draco blushed and looked up. Harry was smiling at him. He almost giggled before remembering who he was and stood up properly. Harry leaned over and before he knew it, he was kissing the Boy-Who-Lived. Except he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived, he was the Boy-Who-Kissed-Bloody-Well. He shivered slightly as Harry nibbled his bottom lip. They broke apart after a few moments. Draco was hardly daring to breathe.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that Potter?" Draco asked.

"Oh, erm, do you really want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Seamus." Draco lifted an eyebrow. Harry blushed.

"You swing the other way Potter?" he asked. "Oh, and how do the lips look?"

"You cut me off before I could reply. Yes, I swing that way, you idiot. I was just kissing you." Draco nodded, and pointed to his lips. "Needs more work." Harry mumbled and captured Draco's lips again. Draco stifled a moan. Why did this feel so right? This was only supposed to be a cover to stop his arranged marriage. He wasn't meant to fall for Potter in the meantime, and yet here he was, making out with the boy wonder. Yeah, the boy with the wondrous  _tongue_. They broke apart again. Draco glanced at the clock. They should probably head down for dinner now.

"How are the lips?" he asked.

"Very good." Harry replied. ' _Yeah, no thanks to you, you fiend with the hot body and talented tongue._ ' Draco thought. ' _Wait, did I just say hot body? What's wrong with me? Although, I guess it's true…'_  Denial was quickly coming back.

"We should get going." Draco said, leading Harry out of his room. "Un-tuck your shirt."

…

They walked to the dining room in silence. Draco's parents weren't in there. They stood awkwardly for a moment before Harry said,

"You know what you said up in your room, about your parents catching us kissing…" Draco nodded. "Do you think now would be good time?" ' _Wow, Harry read my mind!_ ' Draco nodded again. "Fine, get your skinny arse over here," Harry said, taking Draco by the arm and pulling him into the kiss. Draco marveled at the softness of Harry's lips and the skill of Harry's tongue. Without thinking, he lifted his hands up and started running them through Harry's hair. Harry responded by pulling him closer and inching a hand up Draco's untucked shirt. ' _This couldn't all be an act, could it?_ ' Draco's heart was racing. He was loving every single second of this.

They heard muffled footsteps coming down the corridor and then a loud thump. They pulled apart and saw Narcissa lying on the floor, with Lucius bending over her looking angry.

"What's wrong with Mum?" Draco asked.

"She passed out from shock." Lucius replied coldly before muttering " _Enervate_." Narcissa blinked and sat up slowly. A house-elf scampered out from the dining room and announced that dinner was ready. Everyone nodded and Narcissa slowly picked herself up.

Dinner was tense to say the least. Harry and Draco sat opposite each other, neither looking the other in the eye and Harry was forced to make small take with Lucius.

"This is a very lovely house you have, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said politely. Lucius sent him an icy glare. He tried many other conversation topics, all with the same reply, before losing his temper. "Look, stop glaring at me! It's not like I'm going to start  _ravishing_  your son right here on the table at any moment, as much as I would like to. I do have manners you know!" Lucius merely raised his eyebrows and continued to eat. Harry was silent after that.

' _He's sexy when he's angry!_ ' Draco thought, smirking secretly into his chicken parmesan. He looked up and saw Harry looking at him strangely. Draco arched an eyebrow at him before returning to his food again. The rest of dinner passed in a tense silence and when it ended Draco gladly said goodnight to his parents and led Harry back up to his room.

" _Harry Potter is a sex god_ ," Draco said.

"Heck yes," Harry replied. Draco looked at him bewilderedly. "Oops, sorry. That's my cousin's fault. He watches this reality TV show about American kids at Catholic camp. They can't swear, so they say heck yes, instead of hell yeah. I actually think it sounds cooler…" he trailed off, embarrassed. Draco nodded. He actually had no idea what a  _TV_ was, but he didn't want Potter to know that.

They began to change into their pajamas in silence. Draco snuck a look at Harry as he was doing so and was rewarded with the sight of Harry in just his boxers. They were orange with polka dots. Draco almost started laughing until he tore his eyes away from the boxers and onto the hot body underneath them. He felt his cheeks flush at the sight and quickly turned back to getting into his pajamas.

They had a 'who can brush their teeth for the longest amount of time' competition in the bathroom. Draco got bored and gave up, but thought it was fun while it lasted. Draco was glad he had asked Harry to be his pretend boyfriend. He was good company and he wished they had stopped fighting sooner. Also, as an added bonus, Harry was an  _amazing_  kisser.

"Harry," Draco said as Harry crawled into the bed beside him.

"Yeah?" Harry replied.

"You said you learned to kiss like that from Seamus, right?"

"Yeah… Why?"

"Just wondering. Were you two an item?"

"I suppose, but it was really just about the sex though." Harry laughed as he saw the shocked expression on Draco's face. "I'm being serious!" Harry laughed again.

"Oh. Well goodnight then." Draco mumbled.

"What? No more questions about my personal life?" Harry asked, in an amused tone.

"Um. How many people have you… erm…  _done it_  with?" Draco asked tentatively not really wanting to know the answer. This was Harry Potter; The-Boy-Who-Lived; The-Boy-Who-Kissed-Bloody-Well; the Golden Boy of Gryffindor, for heaven's sake! He could have anyone he wanted.

"Erm... three." Draco was shocked. He would have thought Harry had bedded many more people than three. There were a lot of things Draco was slowly finding out about Harry…


	3. Chapter 3

"Um. How many people have you… erm…  _done it_  with?" Draco asked. Harry couldn't believe that Draco had just asked him that.

"Erm... three." Harry blushed scarlet and was glad it was night time. He glanced over at Draco and saw a shocked expression on the other boy's face. He laughed and Draco spluttered.

"Why are you laughing at me?" he asked.

"Well you look scandalized over that fact that I've only ever slept with three people." Harry said.

"I  _am_  scandalized! You're Harry Potter for heaven's sake! The-Boy-Who-Lived; The-Boy-Who-Kissed-Bloody-Well; the Golden Boy of Gryffindor!  _Come on Harry! Three?_ " Harry was stunned into silence. Had Draco Malfoy just called him The-Boy-Who-Kissed-Bloody-Well? That was new and rather exciting.

"What's wrong with three?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Nothing, I'm just saying that it was a surprise is all."

"Yeah, and I'm The-Boy-Who-Kissed-Bloody-Well? That's a new one on me…" Draco paled.

"Did I  _actually_ say that out loud?" Harry nodded. "Oh crap." Draco hid under his pillow and Harry could hear muffled sobs of "My life is over!" coming from underneath it. Harry patted him awkwardly on the back and Draco tensed.

"It's OK. It's better than Seamus's name for me!" Draco slowly removed the pillow and looked at Harry sheepishly.

"And what does Finnegan call you Harry?" he asked quietly.

"The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Give-Good-Head." Now it was Harry's turn to hide under the pillow as Draco started laughing hysterically, before stopping suddenly and saying,

"Oh God! That's a horrible mental image!" Harry snickered. It wasn't a horrible mental image to  _him_. In fact, it was rather a good memory… "Bad Draco! Get those horrid pictures out of your mind!" Draco moaned.

"I don't know whether it's true, but that's what he calls me." Harry said, turning crimson again. ' _We could test it if you liked._ ' Harry thought. ' _What on earth possessed me to think that? Oh God! I mean, he is incredibly sexy, but he's still an evil bastard!_ ' Harry battled with himself about whether Draco was sexy or evil before he noticed Draco staring at him.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I asked you a question, Potter." Draco said. "I would like an answer."

"You did? Oops, I'm sorry; I was away with the fairies there. What did you ask me?"

"Who were the three?" Draco asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Draco shrugged. "Fine. Seamus, Terry Boot and Oliver Wood."

"In that order?"

"Yes."

"Oh. And Seamus  _still_  calls you…ahem…  _that_?"

"Yes, well, can we change the subject?" Harry was feeling distinctly uncomfortable, discussing his sex life with his school rival even if they were sharing a bed. And a house. For the rest of the summer. Oh screw it.

"No!" Draco was smiling evilly. Harry sighed. He didn't want to tell Draco about Seamus, or Terry, or Oliver. He and Seamus had never as such, gone out, but every now and again they would meet, anywhere they could, and take out some of their sexual frustration on each other. Terry had been different. They had actually cared for each other and had a loving relationship. Harry had been forced to end it when Terry had become a bit paranoid and had started accusing him of cheating with every person in the school. Oliver in turn had been different. He had come back to school for a day to look at the potential professional Quidditch players and one thing had led to another and they had shared an amazing night in the locker rooms. When Harry had woken up the next morning, Oliver was gone, but had left a note expressing his sadness that he had to go, but that he would always remember that night.

Harry did not want to share any of this with Draco and so asked him how many people he had slept with. Draco paused to think for a moment before saying,

"Five." Harry nodded. "The majority of whom you have also slept with." Harry raised his eyebrows. "Well there was Pansy, then Blaise, then Seamus, then Terry and finally Oliver." Harry nodded numbly. He wondered if Draco had slept with Seamus before he had, but didn't really want to ask.

"When did you… do it…. with Oliver?" he asked tentatively, hoping the answer would not be a time when they were at school.

"Over last Christmas break. We bumped into each other in the Three Broomsticks and we got a bit drunk and well yeah..." Harry nodded again. He couldn't actually believe he was having this conversation with Draco. He didn't even discuss these things with Ron! He and Ron attempted to have these conversations, but Ron only wanted to tell him about Hermione. He didn't want to hear about how gay his best friend was. It didn't bother Ron that Harry was gay; he just didn't want to hear about what Harry had done with his lovers. Draco on the other hand… Harry sighed.

"We should get to sleep," Harry said at length after a long and awkward silence.

"Yeah. ‘Night Harry."

"G'night Draco." Harry turned over awkwardly. This day had turned out to be a very strange one… Little did he know, but it would become a whole lot stranger in the near future…

…

Harry woke the next morning feeling refreshed and warm. He didn't open his eyes for fear of losing the wonderful just-woken-up-but-don't-have-to-get-up feeling. Plus he was cuddling something very nice and soft. The memories of the day before washed over him like a tidal wave and he realized what the soft thing must be. He squeaked and tried to untangle himself from Draco but it was impossible. The other boy was still fast asleep and trapping Harry's left arm beneath him. Harry sighed. He didn't want to think what Draco would think if he awoke to find himself in the arms of The-Boy-Who-Lived. So Harry rolled onto his back, keeping his arm out to the side.

Eventually Draco woke up and looked over at Harry who was now wearing a very bored expression on his face.

"Good morning, grumpy." Draco said. Harry jumped and turned his head.

"Morning."

"Why are you so grumpy?" Draco asked, a slightly amused tone to his voice.

"Because you're lying on my arm you dork!" Harry said, feeling rather annoyed.

"I am not a dork, you.. you..  _fork_!"

"Fork?"

"Yes! Fork! It is the worst insult ever!" Draco laughed.

"The worst insult ever? Ouch. I feel hurt. You really are a spork… That's worse than a fork!" Draco looked confused.

"What's a spork?" he asked.

"Half spoon, half fork." Draco nodded slowly. "Yeah, now get off my arm you evil whore."

"I am SO not a whore, Potter!  _You_ are the one playing  _my_  boyfriend!"

"Damn it. You have a point there Malfoy. I should really be calling you Draco and you should really be calling me Harry."

"Yes. Of course Harry. Care to go down for breakfast? My parents won't be there and we can decide what to do today."

"Sounds good." And so they got up and dressed. Harry wanted to sneak into Draco's shower, but didn't want his balls hexed off and so wisely waited his turn. But other than that the preparation for breakfast was uneventful. 

They walked down to the dining room in silence. Upon arriving in the dining room they found that they weren't to be alone for breakfast. Narcissa and Lucius were there with Lord Voldemort. He was drinking green tea. As soon as Harry entered the room, Voldemort grabbed his wand and shouted,

"Avada Ke-" but he was cut off by Lucius.

"Not here Tom," he said and Voldemort reluctantly sat down, shooting Harry a venomous look.

"Did you boys sleep well?" Narcissa asked.

"Oh yes," Harry replied. "We slept  _very_  well, thank you."

"Harry!" Draco said, looking scandalized.

"What?" asked Harry, not sure what he had done wrong.

"Do not imply to my mother that we had sex last night. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"But Draco! Wouldn't she be proud that her little boy is  _so_  good in bed?" said Harry, spanking Malfoy playfully. Narcissa fainted. Voldemort had been watching the exchange of words almost amusedly.

"Are you two… ah… going out?" he asked in a tone suggesting he was trying very hard to appear un-shocked by the news.

"Yeah, we are," said Harry.

"You didn't tell me about this Lucius."

"Well Tom, I only just found out about it to be honest. Draco here didn't tell me."

"Well Dad, I wanted to tell you in person, not in a letter!" Draco said.

"And Draco," said Voldemort in the same light tone, "Does it matter to you that you are going against what is expected of you as a Malfoy?"

"No. I like Harry too much to care about that."

"Really? How interesting.."

"Yes," said Harry, "I'm just that good."


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes," said Harry, "I'm just that good." Draco went scarlet. Or at least as scarlet as Malfoys go. So a slight tinge of color appeared in Draco's cheeks. Harry was obviously enjoying himself.

"Of course you are," said Voldemort in an oddly patronizing tone. "Well this is interesting. Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, MY ARCH NEMESIS, is gay as a maypole!" He laughed a very strange laugh, as if he had just told a very dirty joke.

"Oh, I don't know," said Harry, "That really depends on how gay maypoles are." Voldemort shot him a withering glance. Harry ignored him. Draco was watching the proceedings in horror. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort were… exchanging small talk? Next thing you know, hell will freeze over! That would be… amusing if that happened.

"Well actually, in my opinion, maypoles aren't very gay. Male strippers on the other hand… are very gay. I would know. I used to be one. All my colleagues… tried to take me in the shower…” There was a stunned silence. ' _BAD MENTAL IMAGE!_ ' thought Draco. "What? I had to get myself through college somehow!" he said defensively. "I had a great body back then…” He trailed off, staring at the corner of the ceiling dreamily.

The rest of breakfast was spent in an awkward silence, until Draco felt a hand on his thigh. He squeaked and everyone turned to look at him. Harry smirked. Draco had never seen Harry smirk before. It was a crazy look. It made him look very predatorial.

"Are you trying to feel me up under the table Potter?" Draco said in an audible whisper.

"I might be Draco. As long as you don't mind." Harry mock whispered back.

"No. It's quite nice. Keep going." Draco said, and then as if only just becoming aware of the fact that everyone was looking at him said, "Oh. Yeah. Hi." He waved sheepishly.

"Get a room," said Voldemort lazily.

"Father may we? Can we go back to my room?" Draco looked pleadingly at Lucius. Lucius looked pained but dismissed them from the table. They left quickly and as soon as they were out of earshot Draco said,

"What the hell was that about Potter? I told you to  _play_ my boyfriend, not be him!" Although truthfully Draco had enjoyed the little incident.

"Heh. I wanted to add a little spice to breakfast. I'm sorry if I offended your dignity Draco."

"It's OK. I mean, you are doing a very convincing job. I just need to be on the same page as you. I'm not the best at improvisation."

"Sure. So I have to  _tell_ you what I'm going to do before I do something then?"

"Basically… Yes that would be good."

"I can't work under these conditions Malfoy!" said Harry, laying on the melodramatics, "I'm a spontaneous being. I don't bode well with Plans." Draco rolled his eyes. He could hear the capital letter in Plans. He did in fact love Harry's spontaneity; he was only worried about how he would react to it.

"OK, Harry, be spontaneous."

"OK. I will." And he shoved Draco against the wall and kissed him. Draco was about to protest, as they were only  _pretending_  to be going out, when he heard footsteps down the corridor. Damn that Harry was good. He gave into the kiss and sure enough Lord Voldemort turned the corner, shortly followed by Lucius. They stopped dead when they caught sight of Harry and Draco.

"Boys!" Lord Voldemort yelled and Harry and Draco sprang apart, muttering apologies. "I thought I told you to get a room! Shoo!" They fled and only stopped running when they reached Draco's room.

"Harry, how did you know they were coming?"

"I could feel it in my scar."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's all I can do to think straight. It's killing me." He clapped a hand to it.

"Does it hurt when he's close then?"

"Yes. Or feeling particularly full of emotion."

"Oh. I see." Draco said, although he really didn't. " _Harry Potter is a sex god_." They walked inside Draco's room and found a house elf sweeping the floor and occasionally dancing suggestively with the broom.

"Bumbi! What  _are_  you doing?" Draco asked. The house elf squeaked and looked up from its sweeping.

"Sorry Master Draco, Bumbi was practicing for the pole dancing competition that Lula is holding in the kitchen this evening. You and your guest are invited if you want to come and watch…” She trailed off nervously. Draco looked at her for a moment then laughed and sent her away wishing her luck in the competition.

"Sorry, our house elves are a little bit strange." Draco explained. "They like to hold odd competitions and play weird games at night. You get used to it. Actually that's a lie. You don't get used to it. You just learn to ignore it. Unless it embarrasses you like it has me just now. Did I make any sense in that last sentence by the way?"

"No. But that's OK."

"Yes. So Potter, what do you want to do today?" Draco asked, flopping down on the couch.

"I don't know. What do you want to do today, Malfoy?" Harry replied.

"I don't know. I was thinking we could go riding."

"Riding?"

"Yes, as in horses Potter."

"Oh right. Sure. Sounds fun." Harry looked embarrassed at having to have had riding explained to him. Draco stood up and motioned for Harry to follow him.

The stables were a ten minute walk away from the house, and they tried to fill this time with idle talk, but never got off the subject of the weather. ' _God,_ ' thought Draco, ' _It's almost like we're flirting, like only talking about the weather… Wait… What? NO!_ ' and so he quickly changed the topic to sailing for unknown reasons which then turned back into talking about the weather.

The stables were old and covered in ivy. It was made of brick and of course  _ve-hery high class wot wot._ The front door was covered in wrought iron and Harry thought it was utterly ridiculous. Draco of course thought it was nice. There were three horses in three, labelled stalls. Narcissa's horse was a palomino mare called Peaches, Draco's horse was a chestnut mare called Loo, (named after Lucius when Draco was little) and Lucius' horse was a big, black stallion named Man of Whore.

"You can ride Daddy's horse." Draco said, walking over to Loo. He pointed to Man of Whore.

"Aw hell no Malfoy. I'm supposed to be killed at the hands of Voldemort (or die peacefully in bed when I'm like ninety), not by being thrown off of some big ass crazy horse called Man of Whore. I mean, COME ON! How crap would that sound in a newspaper? Boy-Who-Lived Killed By Man Whore, because  _of course_  they'll get the horse's name wrong and then people won't bother reading the article because the caption will be enough and they'll think I'm gay, ok well they'll _know_  I'm gay and then won't want to read the article anyway because they won't want to hear about Harry Potter doing anything that isn't kosher and they'll all think I hired a man whore who killed me!" Draco waited until Harry had ranted himself out before saying,

"Damn Potter, that last sentence… was WAY too long."

"Draco is that ALL you have to say about my big rant?"

"Yes… Wait, no… YOU THINK THAT HIGHLY OF YOURSELF?"

"What! I don't think highly of myself! That was ME having a go at the MEDIA! Oh, and how I don't want to die right now so please let me ride Peaches instead?"

"No. You can ride Man of Whore. He's tame. I swear to you. You  _really_  don't want to ride Peaches. She's violent. She has a very deceptive name."

"Fine. I'll ride the bloody man whore."

"Ooh! Kinky Potter."

"Shut up." Draco stuck out his tongue, not caring that he probably looked childish. Then he saddled the horses with a wave of his wand.

"Need help up Harry? You are rather short…” Harry shot him a glare and proceeded to climb into the horse's saddle unaided. Draco shrugged and levitated himself into the saddle of Loo.

"Loser," Harry mumbled. Draco smirked at him but Harry ignored him. He nudged his horse into a walk. Harry followed suit with Man of Whore, looking rather grumpy. Draco was enjoying himself…


	5. Chapter 5

Harry was pissed off. He didn't want to be riding some bloody horse called Man of Whore. He supposed the name was some sort of lame play on words. Man of War, Man of Whore.

Or maybe there was more to it than that. Harry stopped that thought right there. He didn't really want to know about what Lucius Malfoy got up to in his spare time… Especially not with Voldemort flitting around the house talking about how he was a rent boy. Harry snorted as a picture of Voldemort wearing a pink flowery dress came into his mind saying ,

"Coo-ee! I'm a lay-dee!" Draco looked up at his snort of laughter.

"What is it Potter?"

"Nothing to do with you, Malfoy."

"Fine. Whatever." They rode on in silence. Harry was lost in thought about Voldemort and his green tea. That reminded him of Ron who had slowly become dependent on the drink during the past year. He now had eight cups a day. Harry wondered idly if that was why Voldemort was doing so well… Maybe he should start drinking green tea…

"Hey! Earth to Pot-head!" Malfoy said. Harry snapped out of his reverie just in time to notice the branch that hit him flat on the nose. He fell backwards off of Man of Whore who decided to add insult to injury by literally kicking him while he was down.

Harry rolled on the ground in pain. Damn Malfoy and damn that horse. He was convinced his arm was broken. His nose was definitely bleeding. He could feel it dripping down his face. Perhaps he had broken his nose too. His glasses were nowhere to be found. The world was blurry.

Draco jumped off his horse and hurried over to him. Harry expected him to be laughing but he just looked worried.

"Are you OK, Potter?" he asked.

"No, I'm not, you mental defective," Harry mumbled, tasting blood as some from his nose seeped down into his mouth. He turned over onto his uninjured arm and spat it out.

"Nice insult Potter," Malfoy said. "Ten points to Gryffindor for inventiveness." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fix me, you dingbat,” Harry said.

"Again, nice use of words." Draco was obviously enjoying Harry's pain now that he knew Harry wasn't in danger of dying.

"Shut the hell up and fix me, you ignoramus!" Harry snarled. He was sick of Draco's time wasting. His arm hurt, damn it! Malfoy sighed and rolled up his sleeve. He gingerly took Harry's arm and examined it. Harry whimpered as Draco moved his arm slightly.

"Sorry Potter," Malfoy said. Then after some more examination he announced, "I'm afraid your arm is broken."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But I can fix it." He took out his wand. Harry snatched his arm away, wincing in pain. "What's wrong?"

"The last time someone other than Madame Pomfrey tried to do that… I ended up with no bones in my arm!" Harry cried.

"Yes, but I'm trained. Pomfrey's been teaching me things because of… Well.. I'll tell you about that later. I'm fully capable of fixing your arm. Now stop being a baby and give it to me."

Harry reluctantly held out his arm. Draco sighed and muttered a spell. The bones knit themselves back together and Harry stopped looking worried. Malfoy then did the same to Harry's nose. Harry sat up and wiped some of the blood off of his face.

"You're such a dork, Harry," Malfoy said. Harry scowled at him.

"Why am I a dork?" he asked.

"Well, you got yourself knocked off the bloody horse for one."

"It was the bloody horse's fault!"

"No it wasn't, you nitwit," Draco said. "You didn't see the branch that was right in front of you! You could easily have ducked! What's wrong with you?"

"I was lost in thought."

"Oh, fair enough." Harry looked around.

"Where are the horses?" he asked. Draco looked up.

"That is a very good question," he said. "I don't know." Harry groaned. Now they would have to spend the rest of the day searching the overly extensive grounds for some stupid runaway horses. "Hey, Loo! Man! C'mere!" Draco called. He whistled piercingly. Harry heard hoof beats in the distance and sure enough the horses came into view shortly after.

"How the hell did you do that?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Well, they're pretty intelligent animals. They know to come when they're called." He patted Loo on the neck affectionately. Loo nuzzled him. 

At that point, Harry was struck by how human Draco was. He seemed capable of love and compassion; of things other than dislike or contempt. Harry was actually quite surprised by this; he had never really seen anything like this in Draco before. He shook himself mentally and began wiping more blood from his face.

Draco waved his wand again and the blood was gone. Harry smiled. He always forgot that he was a wizard. It was just something that he took for granted now. His summers were usually a wake up call that not everyone could do magic and it was strange now, going back to it, even thought it was not him who was casting the spells.

"Come on Potter, let's get back to the house. You probably want to rest after all that excitement." Malfoy said.

"Um… no. I'm OK to keep riding actually," Harry said. "I have an idea. Why don't we have a race!"

"Oh Harry, so childish and competitive," Malfoy sighed. "Where to?" he asked, smirking.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I don't know your grounds. Back to the stables?"

"Sure." Harry stood up and called Man of Whore over to him. "What are the stakes of this?"

"Eh?" asked Harry.

"Well, we have to bet on who will win. Well, not quite bet, but the loser needs a forfeit."

"OK," Harry said, a glint in his eyes. "How about the loser has to enter the house elf pole dancing competition!" He laughed at the look of horror on Draco's face.

"Deal, let's shake on it."

"Wait, I hadn't finished," Harry said. Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked. "No, the loser must also dye their hair the color of the victor and call them Sex God for the whole of the next day."

"You're on," said Malfoy, holding out his hand. "Also the loser must do the pole dancing topless!" Harry narrowed his eyes but nodded. Then he took Draco's hand and shook it.

"Let the games begin!" Malfoy cried and quickly mounted Loo before Harry had realized what had happened. Harry snarled and quickly mounted onto Man of Whore. But Draco already had quite a head start. Harry frowned and urged Man of Whore on as fast as he would go. 

Draco was enjoying himself. He had the faster horse and a quite a lead on the poor savior of the wizarding world. He glanced back under his shoulder as he rode and was rewarded with the sight of a very annoyed Harry Potter. The brunette boy was urging his horse on as fast as it would go. Draco laughed and turned back to look where he was going.

Draco could almost see the stables. It was still just a vague shape in the distance, but it was open ground from here on out. He glanced back to see that Harry had gained on him a bit but not enough to be worried about. Harry didn't seem to be wanting to push Man of Whore and so was keeping him at the pace he was going. He could keep this speed without worry of slowing down.

Malfoy on the other hand could feel Loo slowing slightly. Man of Whore was not a fast horse, but he sure had stamina. Loo on the other hand was a sprinting horse with bad stamina. In long distance races, Man of Whore usually won. Harry could tell from the way the horse was moving that Man of Whore wanted to win just as much as he did. He urged him on, pushing him to his fastest pace.

The ground was swallowed by Man of Whore's hooves. The gap between Malfoy and Harry lessened considerably. Malfoy hadn't realized yet. He was too intent on his goal of getting to the stables. Harry could see them now. They weren't far off. He  _needed_  to win. He needed to show Malfoy that he could still win even when Draco cheated. He  _had_  to win.

Draco looked under his arm again to see where Harry had gotten to and was surprised to see the brunette so close. He was so surprised that he didn't see the tree branch in front of him. He didn't see it attach itself to his robes, but he did feel it, because it pulled him off of Loo. He yelped and flailed but it was too late. He was hanging by the scruff of his robes from the tree. He scowled and hung there. Loo had stopped immediately after feeling her master leave her back and so he now couldn't even claim that it was the first  _horse_  to reach the stables.

Draco swung round until he was facing Potter who had slowed to a walk. He scowled more fiercely. Harry laughed and urged Man of Whore back into a trot. Draco pouted as Harry went past him and made his leisurely way to the stables. He was tired of being stuck in this tree and he knew his robes wouldn't tear to let him down. They had anti-tear charms on them. Damn parents.

By this time Harry had reached the stable and turned back around. He was now hurrying back to Malfoy and his tree. Draco folded his arms and looked grumpy.

"Took you long enough, Potter," he snapped. Harry just laughed and helped him down.

"I win," Harry said simply and grinned at the annoyed look on Malfoy's face.


	6. Chapter 6

Draco was sulking. He hated losing. Bloody Potter always won. The Boy-Who-Goddamn-Lived. Maybe he should let Voldemort finish him off.. Then he wouldn't have to go through embarrassment like this. But on the other hand, he was good company. He could take a dare when handed one. But he always won. Draco was determined that in his stay at the Manor, Potter would lose at something. He didn't know what but he would bring him down.

Harry was still grinning like an idiot. They had put their horses away and were now walking back up to the Manor. Draco glared at him but Harry ignored him.

"Goddamn it, Potter. I don't want to dye my hair!" Draco said, pouting.

"Fair's fair,  _Malfoy_ ," Harry laughed. Draco shot him another death glare and again Harry ignored him, a smile playing about his face. Draco gave up. He would just have to do the bloody dare. He shuddered. It was going to be  _so_  embarrassing.

He felt Harry grab his hand as they were walking and tried to snatch it away but Harry hissed at him,

" _They're_ coming." Draco scowled but kept a hold of Harry's hand, interlacing their fingers. "And stop looking so grumpy," Harry added. "It's not the end of the world!"

"Yeah, for  _you_  it's not. You bloody won! You get to  _watch_  me pole dance… topless! You're bloody lucky!" Draco argued. Harry laughed.

"True, true," he said. "This should be fun!"

"But if you  _dare_  laugh, Potter, I will hex you from here into next Tuesday."

"Who said it was funny?" Harry asked. "I'm going to be enjoying watching you writhe." Draco almost stopped walking. Harry laughed even harder. "Writhe, in embarrassment," he said. Draco scowled and hit him on the shoulder.

Voldemort and Lucius came into view in the distance. Voldemort's robes were pink. Harry pulled Draco closer to his side. He let go of Draco's hand and instead put his hand in the back pocket of Draco's trousers. Draco jumped at the intimacy but allowed Harry's hand to stay there. He put his own arm around Harry's shoulder.

Lucius hailed them when they were about fifty meters from them. Harry and Draco went over to return the greeting. Voldemort looked twitchy. He kept flexing his fingers.

"Hello boys," Lucius said in a frosty tone. Harry nodded in assent but Draco said,

" 'Sup Dad? How's it hanging?" Lucius frowned.

"Draco, stop trying to be 'Gangsta'. It doesn't become you. You're a rich, white kid. Your mother is not a 'ho' and I'm not a 'pimp daddy'." Harry could actually  _hear_  the inverted commas.

"Whatever minger you work in MacDonald's," Draco replied, using the hand gestures W, M, W, M with his fingers.

"Draco? You haven't been… ah… experimenting with anything in… er… Daddy's Private Room now have you?" Lucius asked, looking worried.

"No, Dad, I haven't been stealing your stock." Lucius narrowed his eyes. Voldemort hiccuped and a small flower by his foot died. Harry had almost forgotten he was there.

"Lucius, let the kid be. He is way more street than you. Just get over it." Voldemort said. Lucius scowled.

"No way. I is way more street than him, bruv," Lucius said. Voldemort rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up," he said. "You really are quite an annoying minion, you know?" Lucius turned his eyes to the ground.

"Sorry master."

"It's OK. But I swear, if people didn't pay so much to see you, I would kick you off the show in a heartbeat. But as it is, people like too see you dance in a martini glass. I guess you do have a nice butt…” he trailed off. Draco glanced over at Harry. He looked both ill and faintly amused.

"Anyhow, father," Draco said, sensing that they should probably get going. "Harry and I are off to my bedroom to have some mind blowing sex. Please do not disturb us." Harry nodded and spanked Draco.

"Come on lover, if we don't go soon I'll be tempted to take you here and now." Lucius looked ill but Voldemort looked intrigued. Harry grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him away. This other side of Voldemort scared the bejesus out of him.

….

As soon as they reached Draco's room, Harry rounded on him.

"You have some explaining to do," he said. Draco frowned.

"What do you mean Potter?" he asked.

"What is 'Daddy's Secret Room? And why does Voldemort have people who pay to see your dad dance in a martini glass?"

"Oh right," said Draco. " _That_. Um… Yeah… So… My dad's a drug lord and a dancer at Voldemort's club."

"Oh," said Harry. There was a slight pause then, "EW! That last bit's gross!" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, Potter. He just happens to be good at it." Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said. Draco shook his head.

"It's OK, Potter. I think it's a bit odd myself, but then again, it's not me doing it." He shrugged. "That's why I don't want to be a Death Eater. They all have to take turns dancing in the club. I don't want to do that."

"But Draco dearest, you're doing that tonight!" Harry said, batting his eyelashes in mock innocence.

"Bugger, I'd forgotten about that," Draco said. "Goddamn it Potter, I don't want to!"

"Stop whining. I'm not letting you out of this. A deal's a deal." Draco tried pouting. "Nope. You're going to pole-dance tonight whether or not you want to."

"Is that a threat, Potter?"

"Yes. I shall make you do this."

"You want to watch it don't you?" Draco asked, smirking at Harry in what he thought was a flirtatious way. To Harry it just looked like a normal Malfoy smirk.

"Yes, I do."

"Do I turn you on then?"

"That's not why I want to watch! I want to laugh myself silly, you dork."

"You didn't answer my question. Do I turn you on or not?"

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't. What's it to you?"

"Nothing really. I just want a straight answer, Potter." He paused, thinking about what he had just said and then started laughing. "Ha ha… straight answer… hee.. when you're… ha ha… gay…” he laughed. Harry rolled his eyes.

"If it turns me on it's only because you have a hot body, not because I like you, Malfoy. Those things don't change." Draco stopped laughing. This hurt much more than he thought it should.

"Thank you," Draco said. "For… the answer…” he trailed off. Harry glanced at him with concern.

"Are you OK, Draco?" he asked.

"Yes,  _Potter_ , I'm fine."

"Are you still sulking about the fact that you have to dye your hair black, you ponce?"

"Oh fuck... No, I'd forgotten that." Draco scowled. He'd forgotten how much Harry could bug him when they weren't being nice to each other.

"Well, you still have to." Harry stuck out his tongue impishly. Draco pulled out his wand and put him in the Body Bind curse. Harry fell to the floor glaring at Draco.

"Now Potter. You can stop being such a prick. Or I can just do this again. AND LEAVE YOU LIKE THIS. I'll bloody honor this goddamn bet, just stop rubbing it in why don't you?" Draco freed him and Harry sat up.

"Ouch! That hurt," he said. Draco ignored him. "Look Draco, I'm sorry. I'm being really insensitive. It's just really funny… But I'll keep the amusement to myself." Draco said nothing but stopped scowling. He was still upset about the slight that they were still enemies. He didn't know  _why_  he was so upset, it was true, but he supposed he'd harbored a hope they could at least be friends.

"Yeah, whatever Potter," he snapped.

"Is something else bothering you too, Malfoy?" Harry asked, concerned.

"No." There was a pause then, "Yes." He stared moodily at the wall.

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

"Fine." Harry turned away and walked over to the bay window and sat down on the window seat, staring out at the extensive grounds.

"Why can't we be friends, Potter?" Draco asked suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked, turning around again.

"I asked you why we couldn't be friends.."

"Oh. Well, for one you call me Potter, although, I suppose that's not that bad. I don't know. We always argue. You insult my friends. Your father is a death eater-"

"-What does my father have to do with my life?" Draco interrupted.

"Well, he's your father. He expects things of you. Like you to be mean to me. Me to die one day…” Harry trailed off.

"Yes, but what has that got to do with me?"

"Well, wouldn't you be more loyal to your father than to me?" Harry asked.

"Probably. But. Yeah, I guess you have a point there." Draco's shoulders sagged and he dropped his head to stare at his feet. "But when we weren't arguing earlier and joking around and talking and stuff… it was… well… fun…” He looked up to see Harry looking pensively out of the window again. But there was a small smile on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

' _Well this is new_ ,' Harry thought. ' _Draco Malfoy wants to be my friend… But then didn't he want to all the way back in first year?_ ' And it was true that it was nicer when they weren't arguing. He had almost been having fun.

"You know what Draco," he said after a long pause. Draco looked up. "You're right. I don't see any reason why we can't be friends." Draco broke out into a happy grin.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh good."

"Just don't sell me out to Voldemort," Draco flinched at the name.

"We tend to call him Tom." Harry ignored him and continued.

" _Or I will hunt you down and show no goddamn mercy_ ," Harry finished. Draco nodded. "Is that clear?"

"Yes." Harry could see that Draco didn't doubt what he was saying.

"Good." Harry stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter. Who are you?" Draco looked confused. "A fresh start, Mal-Draco." Draco smiled and took the hand.

"Draco Malfoy." Harry smiled.

"Nice to meet you Draco. Take your goddamn shirt off."

"What!"

"They're coming." Harry was hurriedly undoing his own shirt buttons.

"How the hell do you know these things Harry?" Harry said nothing, merely pointed to his scar. Draco nodded and undid a few buttons then took the shirt off over his head, ruffling his hair. Harry undid his belt too for good measure.

Then he walked over and pulled Draco into a kiss from his waist, pressing their bodies together. Draco pulled away after a moment or so. Harry looked confused.

"They won't be able to get through my door. They don't know the password," he explained.

"But I thought your father said he got freaked out when you changed your password to what it is!" Harry protested.

"Damn. You're right." Draco leaned in again and the kisses continued, getting more and more wild with each passing second. Harry started running his hands over Draco's chest, telling himself it was all for when Lucius and Voldemort walked in, but not really believing it. Draco himself lost no time in copying Harry. Things became even more compromising as Harry threw caution to the winds and attempted to undo Draco's trousers. The blonde didn't stop him.

They were still kissing so Harry couldn't see what he was doing. He was fumbling with the buttons, cursing the fact that there was something preventing him from doing anything. Malfoy was grabbing his ass at the same time which was making it all the more difficult. Harry paused for a moment to realize what Malfoy was doing. It was all happening too fast for his poor brain to process. He went back to fumbling at the buttons. They were really beginning to piss him off.

Harry was preparing to rip the buttons off when they heard the door open. So he decided it was definitely a good idea and proceeded to do so. Draco pulled away.

"Harry!" he whined. "Those are my favorite trousers!"

"But Draco, I want you so bad. I couldn't help myself. I'll fix them later." Draco frowned then nodded and continued kissing Harry. There was a cough from the region of the door. They pulled apart hurriedly and looked over to who was there.

As expected it was Lucius and Voldemort. Unexpectedly it was also MacNair, Crabbe Senior and Avery. They were all looking in fascinated horror at Harry and Draco. They were also all wearing dresses apart from Voldemort who was in his pimp suit. Harry suppressed a shudder. It was lime green.

"Boys we're just going out to the club," Lucius said. He was wearing copious amounts of makeup and had curled his long, blonde hair. Harry finally understood the reason that Lucius wore his hair long. He'd always jut thought Lucius thought it was attractive. Which it wasn't. Draco's hair, on the other hand,  _was_  nice. He had learned over the summer that side partings looked better on him and so had taken to wearing one. Not that Harry had been looking.

"Ok dad," Draco said. "See you later!"

"Be good now. Don't disturb your mother and don't have any unprotected sex."

"Wouldn't dream of it, dad."

"Good, you don't know where he's been," Lucius said, sneering.

"Actually I do," Draco said. And it was true. They had discussed that on Harry's first night there.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Well, have fun! Same advice to you." Harry suppressed a laugh at the look on Lucius's face. He turned on his heel and, Voldemort and the other Death Eaters following, swept out of the room. The last person out slammed the door as they left.

"So that's what Death Eaters wear under their robes.." Harry said thoughtfully. Then he laughed. "That would explain the hoods and masks." Draco smirked.

"Yep, and that's the reason why I  _don't_  want to be one. That's right, Potter, I don't want t be a Death Eater." Harry could only mouth in shock. Draco laughed at his expression. "You look like a fish, Harry."

"Thanks," said Harry sarcastically. "But wait, you  _don't_ want to be a Death Eater?"

"That is correct. Only, don't tell my dad. He'll kill me." Harry nodded.

"Don't worry. I won't." Harry assured him. Draco nodded. He suddenly realized that he was still shirtless and in Harry's arms. But for some reason, he didn't want to change that. Harry was still apparently lost in thought. Draco shivered. It was cold in his room. Harry absentmindedly pulled him into a closer hug. Draco smiled and snuggled into Harry's shoulder.

"You're very comfortable Harry," Draco mumbled.

"Er… thanks… I guess." Harry said, awkwardly patting Draco on the back. He noticed a long scar running across Draco's shoulder. It was quite large and Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed it before now. He ran a hand across it and felt Draco tense.

"What is that?" Harry asked.

"Don't wanna talk about it."

"OK," said Harry, even though he was dying to know what kind of monster could have inflicted such a scar on the boy. It made him angry and he didn't know why. Draco slipped out of his arms and walked to the window. He stared out at the grounds moodily.

Harry sighed and picked up his shirt from where it lay, thrown on the ground. He put it back on. There was no one to pretend for anymore. He picked up Draco's shirt too and hung it over the back of a chair.

He walked over to where Draco was standing and gazed at the scar that knotted the blonde's back. It reached from the top of his shoulder and down to the middle of the small of his back. It was relatively thick and Harry shuddered to think what could have made a scar like that. He desperately wanted to know how Draco got it, but he didn't want to press matters.

He put a tentative hand on Draco's shoulder. Draco whipped around.

"What do you want Potter?" Draco snapped. Harry didn't know why he was suddenly in this foul mood.

"I wanted to know what's wrong," he said. "Why are you suddenly so hostile? What's up?"

"How can you even bear to look at me?" Draco asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry was confused and let this show on his face.

"How can you bear to look at that scar? It's such a deformity."

"Draco! How could you think that? It's not a deformity!"

"Yes it is, it's ugly."

"No. It's not. It just is. It's like my scar."

"No it's not Harry, your scar is small. This.., this is huge. And ugly." He turned around again to face the window. Harry traced the line of the scar and Draco flinched.

"It's not ugly. It’s… brave." Harry whispered. Draco shivered.

"You're scaring me Potter." Draco said coldly. Harry said nothing but walked away and sat down by the fireplace. There was no fire in the grate but it seemed to be the comfiest chair in the room. He picked up a book on the side table next to him and read the title.  _Boy Meets Boy_. It was a Muggle book. Harry wanted to question Draco about it, but Draco was still staring out of the window.

A house elf appeared at that moment to announce that the pole-dancing contest was to start in half an hour if Master Draco and his guest would like to watch.

"OK Bumbi," Draco mumbled miserably. "We'll be down shortly." The house elf left and Draco turned miserably to look at Harry who had a small grin on his face.

"It's time to dye your hair," he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Draco scowled. He didn't want to dye his goddamn hair. He liked his hair. It was his pride and joy! As everyone knew because he spent so much time looking after it.

"What if it doesn't go back to being blonde, Potter?" he whined.

”Oh be quiet," Harry snapped. Humph, just because  _he_  didn't care about  _his_  hair… "It's magic not actual hair dye. You can reverse the spell, you ponce." Draco glared at him.

"I know that Potter, I was just hoping  _you_  wouldn't and would then let me off the hook."

"Not a chance,  _Malfoy_ ," Harry replied. "Sorry, but fair's fair. I won. No go dye your bloody hair. Oh yeah, and you have to call me Sex God for the rest of the day and for tomorrow… Remember?" Draco scowled again.

"Of course I bloody remember."

"Good. Now go dye your hair! You don't want to be late for the competition!" Harry laughed. Draco glowered at him but obediently went to the bathroom and spelled his hair black. He looked at it in the mirror and sighed. It  _really_  didn't suit him. He sighed again and left the bathroom.

Harry laughed when he saw Draco emerge from the bathroom. He didn't know which was funnier, the hair or the expression on Draco's face. This was definitely a moment that Harry would never forget. He made a vow to himself to always remember it. Dark hair didn't suit Draco. It made him look quite emo. Harry tried to explain this to Draco, but Draco didn't know what emo was.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Harry said. "We have to go to your competition!" Draco grimaced but followed Harry out of the door. "You have to show me where this competition is going to be. Surprisingly enough I don't know my way around your house."

"Fine, follow me Harry."

"That's not my name."

"What?"

"My name for the next two days, at least to you, is Sex God. Or have you forgotten?" Harry smirked.

"Very well,  _Sex God_. Follow me." Draco trudged off and Harry followed. He was enjoying himself. Draco however was not enjoying himself. He felt a bit like a slave and was not looking forward to having to take place in the pole dancing competition. He had had a vague idea of leading Harry to the wrong place, but then he figured Harry would get really pissed of at him and he didn't want to face an angry Harry.

After about seven minutes of walking in silence, they reached a painting of a knight in black armor lying dead on the ground.

"Pleasant picture," Harry said.

"Yeah. Doesn't it just give you the will to live?"

"It's called sarcasm Draco."

"Ditto, Potter. Sorry, I mean Sex God."

"Oh… Right."

"Yeah. Anyhow. Open Sesame!" The portrait swung open.

"That's the password?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"But that's so… unoriginal…”

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is. It's a Muggle thing."

"Oh. Then maybe it is. But never mind. Get your arse inside, Sex God." Harry said nothing but went through the door.

Inside was a large room. Harry couldn't decide if it was a kitchen, broom closet or dormitory. On the far side of the room there were beds in rows. Harry counted ten of them. Near the beds on the left wall were shelves of cleaning products. There were also several mops and brooms. In the middle of the room was a kitchen; a square of counters, ovens, stoves and other cooking appliances with a gap in which to enter the circle. On the right hand side of the room was a stage with seats. Harry assumed that this was where the house elf entertainment was held. It seemed to be a regular thing.

The house elves crowded around them as they entered the room, squealing in delight, asking if there was anything they could do for Master Draco and his guest and asking why Master Draco's hair was black.

"Draco here wants to enter your pole dancing competition," Harry announced. Draco blushed and stared at his feet. The house elves squeaked and squealed even louder. Draco shot Harry a glare from under his now black fringe. A house elf stepped forward. Harry recognized her as Bumbi, the house elf they had seen with the broom.

"We are delighted for Master Draco to enter our competition," she giggled. "But we all, Bumbi included, are wondering. Why is his hair black?"

"It's a dare," Harry explained. The house elf giggled again.

"Bumbi doesn't think it suits him, Guest of Draco," she whispered to Harry. Draco had wandered over to a far corner of the room now and was sulking there.

"My name's Harry," Harry said. "Harry Potter." The house elves started muttering amongst themselves at this, staring at him with wide eyes. Bumbi looked in awe at Harry.

"Sir, we didn't realize! Or we would have given you better service!" she cried.

"No! No! It's fine! I don't want special service," Harry said. Bumbi looked at him in disbelief.

"But Harry Potter, sir, you defeated…  _him_ …” she whispered.

"Nah, not really. I mean, he's still around isn't he?" She nodded, frowning.

"Why is Harry Potter here?" she asked. "To defeat him?" Harry laughed.

"No. I'm Draco's boyfriend." The house elves giggled again. Draco whimpered from his corner. "You ok, love?" Harry called.

"Yes, Sex God," Draco snapped. "Thanks for asking." Then he went back to sulking.

"Would Harry Potter like to take a seat?" Bumbi asked. "The competition is about to begin!" Harry nodded and walked over to the stage area and sat down. He glanced over at Draco who was still standing in his corner, staring at the floor.

"Come on, love! It's time to dance!" Harry called. Draco glared at him. The house elves looked confused. Harry rolled his eyes, stood up and walked over to Draco. He put a hand on the ex-blonde's shoulder and squeezed it. Draco turned around to face him, but kept his eyes to the ground.

"Come on, Drake. It's not  _that_  bad," Harry said, encouragingly.

"Actually Potter, it is. I can't dance to save my life, let alone pole dance," Draco said, turning his eyes to the side to look at the sideboard of the wall. Harry could hear a slight whine in his voice and so didn't remind him that his name was Sex God still.

"Well then, just go up there and swing around the pole for a bit. Make it up. Wiggle your hips. Go crazy! I'll clap for you no matter what you do. That's a promise." Draco looked at him at last. There was still worry in his eyes.

"But Harry, what if they laugh?"

"Who cares if they laugh?" Harry said. "You can laugh back at them!"

"But what if someone finds out about this!" There was a hysterical edge to Draco's voice now.

"How could they?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted.

"Precisely. So get out there, and make me proud."

"Harry! I can't! I can't dance! I  _told_  you!" Draco was frantically clutching Harry's sleeve now. Harry disentangled himself and put his hands on Draco's shoulders.

"Listen to me.  _Everyone_  can dance. Everyone. And there are only three rules to dancing. One, don't stop moving. Two, dance like no one's watching. And three, if in doubt do the Macarena!" This made Draco laugh for a second before he went back to pouting.

"I can't do the Macarena," he mumbled.

"Then forget rule three! Just get out there and get this over with! Come on, Drake. It's only five or so minutes of your life. That's it. Put it into perspective."

Draco considered these words for a minute or so before nodding. Harry grinned.

"Ok. Fine. I'll go and get this bloody thing over with," Draco said, turning to the stage.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" cried Harry, spanking him as he went past. Draco blushed slightly but kept on walking towards the stage. Harry hurried back to his seat and sat down. He was going to enjoy this…

Bumbi was the first on stage. She announced the start of the competition and read the rules. The rules consisted of: Do not break the pole. Or clean it. Or turn it into a broom and start cleaning  _with_  it. Also, no flash photography.

A house elf called Gimpy was on first. He looked scared at being first and at being watched by the famous Harry Potter. The music started. Gimpy began his attempt at a pole dance. It wasn't quite what Harry was expecting. In fact it looked more like a child skipping around a maypole than a pole dance.

The next house elf, Zander, was much the same. Harry supposed the fact that they were so small had something to do with it. Draco was after Zander. He walked on, visibly shaking from nerves. Harry wolf whistled and he smiled.

"Take your shirt off!" Harry called. Draco stuck his tongue out impishly but complied. He had to. The music started and Draco started his tentative dancing.

He concentrated on the advice Harry had given him and began to swing his hips in time with the music, all the while hanging onto the pole and leaning back. He pulled himself in towards the pole and swung around it. He focused on being as sexual as he possibly could and just danced, using the pole as both support and a prop.

Harry was in awe. This was possibly  _the_  hottest thing he had ever seen. A shirtless Malfoy. Dancing. No. Gyrating. Moving in ways Harry hadn't thought he could. Turning Harry into a pile of goo in his chair. A pile of goo apart from  _one thing_. Harry groaned as he felt his trousers tighten. Harry crossed his legs forcefully and turned his attention back to the dancing.


	9. Chapter 9

The song ended and Draco gratefully ran off the stage. Harry was sitting very uncomfortably in his chair now. He was terrified that Draco would come over and find him like this. Then it would be awkward. Or at least more awkward than it already was. Harry didn't want that. He was surprised he'd lasted this long without really worrying where this was all going. He still had a week to go and a lot could happen in a week. Heck, a lot could happen in two days, as Harry had found out.

He couldn't believe it had only been two days since he had arrived. One night, two days. He strained to remember what his life was like two days ago. It had been more normal, but less fun. That just about summed it up.

Harry was already looking forward to going back to school and relative normality. He was already scarred for life by the information he was learning about the Dark Side. Voldemort owned a club. A strip joint no doubt. At least an adult entertainment centre if Lucius danced in a martini glass. He also had a pimp suit and a surprisingly intact sense of humor.

Harry shook his head. He couldn't be worrying about those things right now. He had other issues to attend to. Such as the fact that Draco was walking over to sit next to him, having put his shirt back on. He was also wearing a scowl. He dropped into the chair next to Harry and closed he eyes. Harry wished he had a pillow, a book, anything, to put on his lap in case he opened his eyes again. He prayed it would go away. But to no avail.

He sighed and turned his eyes to the stage. A new house elf had come on the stage. The music began again and the small creature began its dance. Harry sighed. Draco looked up.

"Bored Harry?" he asked in a whisper. Harry nodded. "Do the house elves not meet your standard then?"

"Well, seeing as they look like children, this turns me on about as much as watching small children run around a maypole." Harry whispered back. Draco laughed.

"Ah, so it was me that turned you on then?" Draco asked. Harry blushed scarlet. Draco laughed again. "That's interesting. Very, very interesting." Harry didn't want to know what was going on in Draco's head.

Although, it was nothing like what he thought it was. Harry thought Draco would find this thought repulsive. Draco was in fact pleased by the fact that Harry thought he was hot. He didn't know why, but it made his stomach jolt in a funny way.

' _I must be ill,_ ' he thought. ' _There's no other explanation for it. Obviously I don't fancy Harry, so I must be ill_.' He mentally nodded, pleased at his explanation and proceeded to feel if his forehead was hot. It wasn't. ' _What the.. hmm.. Maybe it's just because you cant tell if your own forehead is hot. I'll ask Potter_.'

"Harry, does my forehead feel hot to you?" Harry put a hand on Draco's forehead and shook his head.

"No," he said, looking confused.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Well, it feels normal temperature, it's not cold or anything. You're not dead."

"Really? Not feverish?  _At all_!"

"No, you're fine. Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Draco mumbled. He was very confused. How could he not be feverish! He couldn't actually  _like_  Harry, could he? No. Maybe he was just growing fond of his company. A small voice in the back of his head protested this, reminding him he had always thought Harry was hot. And now Harry thought he was hot… Oh the possibilities!

But then again. Harry still didn't like him. They weren't friends. Not really. And they were only pretending to be going out. And Harry could have just found the dancing hot, not actually Draco. Draco sighed. He didn't know. He didn't even know how he felt, let alone what Harry felt. He didn't know what to do about it either. He supposed the best thing was to play things by ear.

He turned his attention back to the pole dancing house elves. He didn't know how many songs had passed since his. He didn't care. He was just glad it was over. Now there was only one problem. What to do for revenge. He had to beat Harry at something and get him to do something embarrassing himself.

He just needed something that he could beat Harry at. Quidditch was naturally out of the question for that. Harry beat him every single time. Harry would probably also beat him at pole dancing if he tried. Here Draco got distracted as an imaginary Harry swung his way around Draco's head. He looked up to see the real Harry staring at him.

"Uh, the competition ended," he said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"You won."

"I  _what_?"

"You won. You have to go collect your prize." Draco was mouthing soundlessly. There were no words to describe how he was feeling. The closest his brain came to describing it was: ' _What the hell?'_  But even that didn't begin to skim the surface. Harry nudged him. He looked at him, staring wildly. Harry nodded to the front of the room. All the house elves were looking at him expectantly.

He got numbly to his feet and walked back to the stage. Bumbi handed him a slip of paper and all the house elves clapped. He looked down to see what he had won and his stomach lurched unpleasantly. No. It couldn't be. That was  _not_  funny. It had to be a joke. A poor one. But it had to be a joke. Either that or the house elves really were insane.

He walked back to his seat and sat down. The house elves were all looking at him. Some of them looked jealous.

"What did you win?" asked Harry brightly.

"The honor of getting to do the dishes tonight." Draco said, still in shock. Harry burst out laughing. The house elves began drifting away. Bumbi walked up.

"The sink is there Master Draco," she said, pointing to the corner where a big sink was filled to the brim with dirty dishes. "Have fun!" She grinned and walked off. Draco put his face in his hands.

"I'll help, Draco," Harry offered. Draco looked at him through his fingers.

"Why Potter?"

"Because that's what friends do. Or do you not want to be friends anymore?" Harry replied, a small smile on his face. Draco felt something inside of him melt. He shook himself mentally. Malfoys do not  _melt_.

"No, no Potter! I do want to be friends!" Draco cried hurriedly. Harry rolled his eyes at him and mouthed,

"Potter?"

"Oh damn. Sorry. Harry!" He corrected himself. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Sex God. Sorry. It won't happen again." Draco was aware that he was babbling, but he was so thankful for Harry offering to help with the dishes that he didn't care. He also just realized he'd  _apologized_ to Harry. Luckily Harry hadn't noticed.

"Don't mention it. Although, we should get going, or we might be here until midnight!" Draco smiled, nodded and lead Harry over to the sink.

A thought struck him on the way there. He could challenge Harry to a  _dishwashing_  competition! There was no way the blatantly spoiled brat (him being the savior of the wizarding world and all) knew how to was dishes. And Draco had learned the hard way after Harry had freed Dobby.

His father had seemed to think that Draco had played a part in this plot as he had always had a soft spot for the poor house elf. He'd been forced to wash countless (twenty two) dishes. The memory still haunted him sometimes. But he was sure he could beat Harry at this. He voiced the idea aloud and Harry looked at him strangely.

"What's the problem, Sex God?" he asked.

"Well. It's just a bit… odd… isn't it? I mean. Is it who can wash dishes fastest?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Ok. You're on." Draco nodded and inwardly grinned. "What are the stakes?"

"Loser has to… um… be shirtless for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Deal." For the second time that day they shook hands.

Harry was amused by Draco's choice of competition. Did the ex-blonde  _really_  think he could win? Or did he just want to be shirtless for breakfast? Did he really expect  _Harry_  of all people to lose? Harry had been forced to wash the Dursleys’ dishes all his life. He didn't know of a single faster dish washer himself. However he didn't tell Draco this as he didn't particularly want to wear no shirt to breakfast.

They reached the sink and put on washing up gloves and aprons. Both boys stood poised, ready, staring at the pile of plates and sinks in front of them. Harry was trying to hide his smile. He felt almost like Briar Rabbit.

"Go!" Draco cried and both boys grabbed plates and feverishly began to wash.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry ran his nineteenth plate under the water. He had a neat pile of cleaned and dried plates next to him. Draco was looking worse off. A minute ago, they had agreed that the plates had to be dry too, but Draco's plates were sitting haphazardly on the counter, all soaking wet. And he was two plates behind Harry. Harry smiled slightly and continued to wash plates, now on number twenty two.

Draco was scowling. Again. Bloody Potter seemed to have a talent for plates. Draco felt used. This was _really_ not his day. He scrubbed furiously at a plate, taking out some of his anger on it.

Draco was confused as to where Harry had learned to wash dishes. Maybe he'd had a similar experience to Draco, losing a maid or something. But that still didn't explain why he seemed so practiced. Harry wasn't rushing his dishes. He was cleaning them methodically, but he was still fast - faster than Draco - and he hardly seemed to be concentrating on them.

Harry was pleased. Draco was either really stupid, or really ignorant. How the blonde hoped to defeat him at plate washing was beyond him. He supposed Draco didn't know about his childhood. He probably thought Harry had led a sheltered life. He wondered vaguely if Draco would have been so mean to him over the years if he had known the truth about his upbringing.

He sighed. He wondered how many plates he had now washed. He'd lost count at forty seven. He glanced over at Draco's pile again. It was still considerably smaller than his. And Draco was looking frantic. He was scrubbing the plates with fierce desperation. Harry couldn't blame him. He could understand why Draco didn't want to lose. But Harry still wanted to win. Draco  _had_  gotten himself into this mess!

The plate washing continued for another half hour or so before Harry was announced the winner. His stack of gleaming washed and dried plates was considerably larger than Draco's pathetic, haphazard wet pile. Harry helped Draco dry them and then dragged the disgruntled blonde out of the house elves' room.

As soon as they were out in the corridor, Draco rounded on him.

"Where the hell did you learn to wash dishes like that?"

"I've had to wash the dishes my whole life," Harry replied. So it was true that Draco didn't know about his childhood. Well, he was in for a surprise. They began walking towards Draco's room while they talked.

"What do you mean,  _you've_   _had_   _to_?"

"Well, my aunt and uncle seem to see me as a free slave. I mean, they've clothed me, fed me and given me a roof to live under, but that's about all. Basic human necessities only. I lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the first eleven years of my life." Draco was staring at him, wide eyed.

"And here was me thinking you had it easy…” he said, his tone quiet, shocked.

"Easy? Me? Never. I've had to cook and clean from about the time I was able to walk. I never knew about my magic, or that I was special. I thought my parents died in a car crash. I didn't know the truth at all. Nor did I know about Voldemort. I knew nothing. Not until Hagrid came and told me, right before I came to Hogwarts. The Dursley's tried to  _squash_   _it_   _out_   _of_   _me_. Ha. As if  _that_  would work!" Harry laughed. Draco said nothing, but stared at Harry with unseeing eyes. "Are you ok?" Harry asked suddenly.

Draco's mind was reeling. Harry. Slave. Since he could walk. Not knowing about magic. Used. Car crash. Unknowing of Voldemort or his  _parents_. Living in a cupboard. Basic necessities. He vaguely heard himself mutter that he would be fine but didn't believe himself. Harry didn't seem to believe him either.

Draco cursed himself for treating Harry so badly all those years at Hogwarts. He had been  _jealous_  of Potter and his perfect life. He'd wanted the fame, the living with the doting Muggles, all of it. But now he realized that Harry's life wasn't what he'd thought it had been.

He should have  _known_ , should have  _guessed_. He'd heard the rumors but had never believed them. Had he taken a proper look at Harry he might have. The boy was awfully thin. His clothes were all three sizes too big for him. He supposed they were hand-me-downs. He'd seen the fat lump of a cousin and supposed they had come from him.

He kicked himself mentally. He should have guessed when he saw Harry's uncle! Another fat lump. He also didn't seem to care what happened to the boy. Indeed when Draco had asked permission to have Harry stay, the podgy man had thought about his answer for only a matter of seconds before agreeing. Draco could have been whisking Harry away to kill him and the man wouldn't have cared. It made Draco feel sick just thinking about it. Some guardians they were!

He snapped out of his reverie to see Harry staring at him.

"Uh… are you ok?" Harry asked. Draco nodded, then shook his head.

"How could they do this to you?" he asked, outraged. "You're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived! Have they no respect? No dignity? No… pride in you? Anything?"

"They let me grow up in a relatively normal environment," Harry replied. "It meant I didn't grow up spoiled. I didn't take things for granted."

"RELATIVELY NORMAL ENVIRONMENT!" Draco yelled. "A CUPBOARD IS NO PLACE FOR A HUMAN BEIGN TO SLEEP!"

"Calm down. What's done is done! And I'm no worse off for it." He put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Really, I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me any more. I've put it all behind me."

"Harry," Draco said. "You really are a remarkable human being." Harry blushed. "No, seriously, had it been me, I would have come back from my first year and turned them all into toads!"

"Oh trust me," said Harry. "The thought definitely crossed my mind. But I didn't want to risk expulsion from Hogwarts for using magic outside of school." Draco smiled. Harry wasn't completely perfect after all. He too sometimes wanted revenge. A thought struck him.

"How are you able to put up with Voldemort being here?" he asked. "How come you haven't killed him already? For killing your parents and all?" Harry looked at him strangely.

"Well, I guess because I thought your father would then kill me for killing him and it wouldn't be worth it. Plus your dad hasn't let him kill me and probably won't let him at all, at least not while I'm at this house, so it wouldn't be fair." He looked confused. "Yeah. Something like that. It wouldn't feel right if it wasn't a battle."

"Bloody Gryffindors," Draco muttered. "So goddamn honorable."

"You know," said Harry quietly. "I was almost sorted into Slytherin." Draco stopped walking.

"What?"

"You heard me. I was almost in Slytherin."

"But…” he spluttered. “Then… Why… Why weren't you?"

"Because I asked not be."

"But why?" asked Draco incredulously. He couldn't imagine life without his house. He loved it.

"Because I had just found out that my parents were murdered and that their killer was in that house. And that the whole lot of you were pretty scheming and… well… not very nice. Plus you'd just insulted my only friend and were in that house. For me it was logical."

"But! But! We're not  _all_  bad! Ok so the majority of us will probably grow up to be Death Eaters and… well… hate you, but still! It's quite fun sometimes…” Harry said nothing just nodded.

"Harry Potter is a sex god," he muttered at the door to Draco's room and it opened. They walked inside in silence. Draco was still upset that Harry hadn't been in Slytherin.

Harry thought Draco was upset because Harry didn't like Slytherin. He sighed. There was nothing to be done about his not liking Slytherin.

It wasn't just the people. It was also the fact that their common room was down in the dungeons. That was another reason he was glad he wasn't in Slytherin. He would have hated to have his common room be underground. He hated dark, dank places. It just wouldn't have been as cosy. And what Harry had needed when he had first gotten to Hogwarts was cosy. And by cosy, he didn't mean small like his cupboard had been.

He explained this to Draco and ex-blonde stopped scowling. Harry was glad. Every time he had caught sight of the scowling dark haired Draco, he'd wanted to laugh at how Emo he looked. 

Although, the dark hair looked oddly sexy on the blonde. Indeed Harry had found him very hot whilst he was pole dancing. But he shuddered to think what Draco thought about that. It would probably ruin all Harry's chances of  _anything_  with the blonde.

He was starting to realize now that he might just like Draco as more than a friend, if you could call them friends now. They had only started getting along properly a few hours ago. And then there had been that disagreement about Draco's hair. And of course the pole dancing incident.

Draco was actually secretly pleased that Harry had –ahem–  _liked_  his pole dancing. Harry was certainly very good looking and now that they were friends, or at least not hating each other, he was developing a small crush on him. Although he was still in denial. Nothing would ever happen between them. Sure they could kiss as pretend boyfriends, but it would never become real. Harry would never like him that way.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry sighed and began to get ready for bed. He couldn't believe this was only his second night there. It seemed like ages since he was at the Dursley's. A lot had happened since he had arrived. He was living under the same roof where the Dark Lord frequented for tea. And did  _other_  things that Harry didn't want to think about. He didn't know why he didn't just kill Voldemort. It would be so simple. But then, he couldn't use magic outside of school.

Or could he? He realized with a jolt that it had been his seventeenth birthday a week ago. He hadn't noticed it because the Dursleys hadn't mentioned it and none of his friends had sent him any cards. In fact, he had previously thought that it was in a week, but looking at Draco's calendar on the wall alerted him to the fact that it was in fact almost the middle of August. He didn't know how he had missed the days go by. He gave a small yelp of excitement, causing Draco to look up from folding his shirt.

"What is it Po-Ha-Sex God?" he asked, finally arriving at the right name.

"I can do magic!" Harry cried happily.

"No shit. Me too." Draco said, uninterested, and went back to concentrating on the shirt.

"No lame ass. As in I just turned seventeen! I can do magic outside school!"

" _Oh_ , I get you now. Congrats." Draco finished folding his shirt and went to put it away. Harry frowned. This was a big deal for him. He could actually now go and defeat Voldemort without breaking rules. Although he was sure if it had ever come down to it, the Ministry would have made a small allowance. But  _now_  he was  _legal_! He felt so liberated… so free!

His thoughts were distracted by Draco, who was walking over to get his pajamas from the cupboard. He still had no shirt on and Harry could see the scar shining on his back. In all the pole dancing excitement he had forgotten about it.

"Draco," Harry called. Draco stopped walking and turned around. "How did you get that scar?" he asked softly. Draco looked down at his feet.

"I would rather not talk about it, Potter." Harry frowned.

"Why not?" he asked.

"It's rather personal."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Will you ever tell me?"

"Probably not."

"Oh."

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Curiosity"

"Curiosity killed the cat. If you know what's good for you, you won't ask again." Harry scowled but said nothing. "That's not why you want to know is it?"

"No."

"Is that it? Just 'no'? No explanation? You're not gonna tell me why you’re so curious?”

“I… don't understand it myself. I want to know who did this to you. So… I don't know… So I can make their lives miserable."

"How noble. You have a serious hero complex, you know. Don't bother. It doesn't matter." He looked back down at his feet.

"Yes it does, Draco. It matters to me." Harry said, walking over, putting a hand under Draco's chin and lifting his face so that the ex blonde was looking at him. Draco swallowed hard. It was difficult not to give in and tell Harry. He looked so concerned and… sexy.

Not that Harry's sex appeal was a reason to tell him anything. He couldn't tell Harry this. It would mean revealing that his childhood hadn't been perfect. He turned his eyes down. It was easier not to look at Harry. Easier not to have those green orbs boring into his brain, stripping him of common sense.

"It was an accident…” He was looking anywhere but at Harry. This was almost the truth. It had been an accident, but not the kind of accident Harry would think it was. "Damn it Potter. I really don't want to talk about this right now. Or at all. Stop staring at me with those eyes!"

"Well, what else would I stare at you with?"

"I don't know. That wasn't the point of that sentence. Stop bloody staring at me!" Harry looked away. Draco relaxed slightly. Harry's hand left his chin and instead rested on his shoulder.

"It's okay. You can trust me."

"Can I, Potter? Can I really? How do I know, that after all this, you won't just scurry back to your little friends? I mean I know you're all honorable and Gryffindor, but even Gryffindors have been known to be sneaks."

"I don't know how you can trust me or how you would know, Draco. I was just asking for a little faith. But I guess you don't have any of that. Your name says it all for you. Malfoy. Bad faith." Harry was almost shouting now. He didn't know why he was so angry, just that he was hurt by the fact that Draco was so reluctant to trust him.

He had stormed away halfway through that rant and so was now on the other side of the room from Draco. He could still see the boy's scar though. He was almost desperate to know the cause of it. Who could have hurt such a pretty thing? Wait, pretty? Harry sighed and took his own shirt off.

Draco was annoyed at himself. He had pissed off Harry again. He didn't know why he couldn't trust Harry. He wanted to but he supposed that was only because he thought that Harry was good looking. And yet something inside of him was telling him he wanted to trust Harry for reasons more than that. He scowled and threw his shirt down on the bed.

He felt so stupid, starting a pointless argument with Harry. And yet, he found it even harder to tell him things. Draco never told people things. He had never wanted to. But with Harry it was different. Draco wanted different things with Harry. Harry deserved different. He took a deep breath.

"Harry," he said tentatively. Harry turned around. There was a frown on his face. Draco gulped but decided to keep going. "I'm sorry." Harry stopped frowning. Instead he stared at him like a fish out of water, mouthing silently.

"Did I just hallucinate? Or did Draco Malfoy just apologize?"

"I just apologized."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to be on bad terms with you."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"That's nice."

"What is?"

"The fact that you apologized. I didn't know you could. I mean, seriously, not just for calling me the wrong name or something."

"I wouldn't have a while ago. But… I think you're changing me Harry."

"Am I?"

"Slightly. Yes. You bloody Gryffindor." Draco grinned. Harry smiled back. Draco felt something flip in the region of his stomach and he didn't know what it was. He decided to ignore it for the time being and finish getting ready for bed. The pole dancing had taken a lot out of him, along with the dish washing. He shuddered. Dish washing. Oh and bugger. He'd have to go to breakfast with no shirt on.

In fact, that day had been very eventful. Breakfast with Tom, horse riding, losing (he scowled at this), pole dancing, the dishes of DOOM and finding out about Harry's past. He suddenly felt guilty. Harry had shared with him the story of his childhood. Why could he then not tell the story of his scar? He sighed and wandered over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He realized vaguely that they had forgotten to eat dinner.

He finished brushing his teeth and walked back to the bedroom. Harry was reading his book, Boy Meets Boy and smiling slightly.

"Harry, the bathroom's free if you want it," he said. Harry looked up.

"What's that?"

"The bathroom's free."

"Oh, right. Thanks." He stood up and put the book down. "Good book by the way." Draco nodded and Harry walked past him and into the bathroom. Draco smiled at him as he passed and then flopped down on the bed.

He was beginning to be seriously confused about his feelings for Harry. Could they possibly stay 'just friends' in this next week with all this sexual tension? Because Draco could feel the sexual tension. Just little things, like the way their pretend kissing seemed so real. And the fact that Harry got turned on by his pole dancing. (Although anyone would have been turned on by his pole dancing.. He was Draco Malfoy, undeniable sex god, after all! And writhing around with a pole… Well… Who could resist!)

But at the same time, Draco was finding it very hard to believe that his and Harry's relationship would go beyond friendship. He couldn't imagine it. How would it start? He couldn't just say, "Come sex me, Harry. For real." That was an exaggeration, but even still, he couldn't imagine it. Not even talking about feelings. He was a Malfoy, he didn't do feelings. (Although, he was getting slightly worried about how he felt about Harry. He was beginning to believe he could actually feel things for someone else.) Okay, sure, Harry could start the conversation, but the boy was so… reserved… he couldn't even see that.

He sighed again and looked up to see Harry staring at him.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said.

"Um… I wasn't really thinking anything. I was just dozing."

"With your eyes open?"

"Yes, damn it!"

"Okay! Chill out! I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"It's okay. Come to bed… love…” He winked at Harry and crawled under the covers himself. Harry sighed and walked over to the bed. He got into the other side of the bed and pulled the covers over him. He turned to see Draco facing him.

"G'night, Draco."

"Night, Harry." Harry leaned in and pecked Draco on the cheek.

"Wha…? What was that for?"

"It was a goodnight kiss."

"But… but… what?"

"A goodnight kiss. You know, like a closure thing. For the night."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But you've ruined it now. So I have to do it again."

"What?"

"Well, one kiss given means only one of us has to talk to break it. However one kiss given and one kiss returned means both of us have to talk to break it. Do you get me?"

"Not really. No."

"Oh." There was silence for a moment before Draco spoke again.

"Well, I do sort of. Because if there's one given and one returned then, there's still the first one that has to be cancelled out. Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah."

"So, surely that's the better one."

"Yes. It is."

"Where did this mad idea come from?"

"My brain."

"Oh. Not some weird Gryffindork thing?"

"No."

"Oh."

"But I think it would be a nice tradition."

"Fair enough. C'mere Potter- Ah Harry – Damn. Sex God." Harry grinned. Draco kissed him on the cheek and Harry returned it. Then he turned over. Draco prodded him on the back.

"What?"

"I had a thought."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well what is it then?" Harry asked. Draco smirked.

"Well, wouldn't one kiss on the lips be the same as one kiss given and one kiss returned?" Harry raised his eyebrows, but inside he was smiling. "Wait! Hear me out! Yeah, because you know… it's like given and returned in the same go…” he trailed off, looking embarrassed. Harry smiled and nodded then leaned over and captured Draco's lips in his.

"Goodnight Draco."


	12. Chapter 12

Draco was happy. Harry seemed to have an excuse to kiss him. Or at least another one. One that Harry had made up on his own! Just to kiss him! On the cheek to be fair, but still… And then he had agreed to kiss him on the lips! Maybe Harry  _did_ like him… That way… Or even at all. Draco sighed and looked at Harry. He looked so peaceful, sleeping. Unconsciously he reached out and tucked a stray piece of Harry's hair behind his ear. He smiled. Then he closed his eyes, fell into a deep sleep and began to dream.

_He was in a garden, full of roses, white roses. But they held no beauty for him. He could hear Harry calling out. In agony. His heart was racing. His Harry was in danger! He ran through the rose bushes, wincing as the thorns tore at his arms, face and clothes. He could take the physical pain, it was this emotional pain that was killing him. He was drowning in it, still fighting through the rose bushes. He was bleeding now. Blood running down his arms, his face. He could still hear Harry's cries. They were ripping his heart into little pieces. Shattering. Pain._

_He pulled out his wand and killed all the rose bushes, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner. He could now see what was going on. Harry was tied to a rock, arms and legs spread-eagled. His clothes were ripped and bloody. There was a nasty bruise on his cheek and cuts on his face and exposed chest. He was struggling with his bonds, but that only caused the ropes binding him to cut into his wrists and ankles. Draco ran over to him._

" _No!" Harry yelled at him. His voice was hoarse from screaming. "You can't do this. They'll kill you! Get away. Go!" His heart ached. Harry wanted to protect him. But it was Harry that needed the protection. He couldn't just leave him. It would be the thing that killed Harry if he did. He couldn't kill Harry. It would kill him too…_

" _No. I'm staying with you. My life is nothing without you." He meant it. Every word of it. Something deep down told him this was what was right._

" _Please…” Harry begged. "I would rather die than have them harm you." A tear trickled down his face. "They'll call you a deserter… and you know what they do to deserters…” Another tear fell. The scene faded to blackness. Draco was puzzled. He was a deserter? But he wasn't a Death Eater! With a rush of dread he looked down at his right forearm. There, striking against his pale skin, was the Dark Mark._

" _Nooooooooo!"_

He woke abruptly, his forehead burning, drenched in sweat. He looked down fearfully at his arm and was happy to see that it was unblemished. No Dark Mark. He breathed a small sigh of relief. And Harry was  _there_ , looking blearily at him, apparently just woken up. He was safe! Not bleeding or suffering. Draco felt relief wash through him.

"You're ok!" he said, flinging his arms around Harry.

"Uh… yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked, sounding both confused and almost annoyed at having been woken.

"You were… oh it was horrible!" Draco sobbed. "In my dream…” And he proceeded to tell Harry what had occurred in his dream. When he had finished, Harry didn't say anything. He was staring perplexedly at the canopy of Draco's bed.

"So…” Draco said, breaking the silence.

"So what?" asked Harry.

"So what does it all mean?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I don't know… You're Harry Potter, you get these kind of dreams all the time!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I  _understand_  them!"

"Oh." Draco frowned. Well, there went  _that_  theory.

"Maybe it's a prophecy," Harry suggested.

"See! I  _knew_  you'd know what to think!" Draco cried.

"Um. Yeah." Harry was looking uncomfortable.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"Well doesn't it bother you? At all?" Harry looked perplexedly at him.

"What? Doesn't  _what_  bother me?"

"Well… that… it's  _me_  you're worried about… over yourself… or… well… that… you'll…  _love_  me…?”

"Well to be honest… I hadn't thought that far into it yet…” Draco said. "But now you come to mention it… I guess it does a bit."

"A BIT! Just A BIT!" Harry yelled. Draco was feeling highly uncomfortable now. He was trying not to think that this outburst must mean that Harry didn't like him.

"Um… well… yes. just a bit… see… thing is… you're… you're… an… amazing human being… Harry…” Draco was looking anywhere but at the black haired boy. Well… the  _other_  black haired boy. "How could anyone not believe they might fall in love with you? I've only spent a few days in your constant presence and I can already feel my guard falling… Hell! It falls completely at times as is! You bring out a side of me that's never come out in front of anyone else before. And in a way I  _hate_ you for it. But in another way… I… well… I guess I love you for it. There… I said it. I love you. But just a little bit. At the moment. Oh hell. What have I just said?" He trailed off at long last. He hadn't meant to say most of that. But he knew that it was all true.

"Draco-" Harry began.

"-No. Don't tell me. I know you must think I'm a complete and utter idiot now. Even if you didn't before. I mean… I was mean to you for all those years… and…” and he began, to his great horror, to cry.

"Draco would you let me finish?"

"Um… yeah…” He looked down at his hands. A tear fell into his palm. He closed his hand over it, trying to squish it into oblivion, ashamed of its existence.

"Well," Harry continued. “I… er… guess I like you too… Maybe… I might love you… too… I… don't know at the moment… Things are moving so fast… I…” Draco looked up at him, hope shining in his tear filled eyes.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

"I almost think… we… should… er… have a proper relationship… see how things progress… that kind of thing… I mean if that's what you want…” He trailed off. Draco could scarcely believe what he was hearing. Harry wanted him. Or at least. He thought he might want a relationship with him. For real.

He was so happy he couldn't speak. So instead he leaned over and kissed Harry full on the lips, cherishing the fact that he could now do this. For real.

"No more pretend," he whispered into Harry's lips. "That's what I want."

"OK." Harry agreed, kissing him back. "But… can we take this slowly?" Draco was glad Harry had said that. Harry deserved a proper relationship. Harry deserved to be loved. Not just made love to.

"Yes… Yes, we can. I'd like that." He smiled. A proper smile. It felt good. He could let his guard down. Harry wouldn't care. He never had. Harry had always hated the mask. His coldness, his arrogance. The face he portrayed to the world. Harry had always seen through it.

"But for now can we go back to sleep?" Harry asked. Draco almost laughed. He had forgotten that it was still the middle of the night. He nodded and Harry kissed him goodnight before rolling over. Draco wanted to put his arms around Harry, but then realized that might be presuming things. Instead he contented himself with thinking that Harry was finally his. The denial was gone. Completely.

Harry smiled softly to himself as he drifted to sleep. Draco liked him. It was something he had not expected a few days previously, let alone something he had thought he would like.

But Draco had changed subtly (and occasionally not so subtly) over those days. And Harry liked the new him. No. The  _true_  him. For Harry knew that Draco's mask was really the cold person everyone knew, or thought they did. That was gone, or at least going, and Harry was glad. The true Draco was someone who could be loved. The mask had been a blank wall, absorbing all emotion that was thrown at it. But the mask was gone. Going, going, gone. Gone, going… Gone.

All that remained was the young man he was slowly falling for.

And tomorrow morning, he would get to watch him eat breakfast topless!


	13. Chapter 13

Harry rolled over and groaned as sunlight hit the top of his eyelids. He didn't want to wake up yet. He rolled over in the other direction and bumped into Draco who mumbled something inaudible and rolled over himself. And fell off the bed. His resulting yelp truly woke Harry up. He scowled and looked for the cause of the commotion. Spotting Draco, he began to laugh.

"Damn it, Potter! This is all your fault! You shall pay!" he cried. Harry laughed harder, staring down at the indignant boy on the floor.

"Oh really? How?"

"Yes. Really. As punishment you… you…” Draco frantically tried to think of something to punish Harry. "You… have to go to breakfast with no shirt on!"

"But Draco, that's  _your_  thing that you have to do." Harry reminded him gently.

"Oh yeah. Bugger… Fine. You have to go… wearing… SHORT SHORTS! And a tight tee shirt!" And he started laughing maniacally. Harry frowned.

"I don't own any short shorts. Heck. How do you even know what they are? You're a wizard!"

"So? My dad wears them to the club sometimes."

"Oh." Harry really tried not to think about that too hard for fear of a mental image.

"Yeah."

"Well… then… er… how do I get a pair to wear?"

"Go to his room and-"

"-THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I AM WEARING YOUR DAD'S SHORTS!" Harry yelled.

"Whoa! Keep your hair on! Transfigure some of your own clothes into a pair then. There, simple as that."

"Um. Ok."

"And I'll lend you a shirt."

"Right. So. When is breakfast then?"

"Not for a while."

"Oh."

"Yeah. At least, I don't think so…” he glanced at the clock beside his bed. It read twenty to nine. "On second thoughts. Maybe we should start getting ready. Breakfast's at ten. It takes ten minutes to get down there… and I need to have a shower."

"Ok. Wake me up at twenty to ten, then." Harry said, laying back down and burying his face in the pillow.

"But that only leaves you ten minutes to get ready!" Draco cried. Harry turned his head and stared at Draco.

"I know. It only  _takes_  me ten minutes to get ready. Not an hour and ten minutes. I'm not a prat like you."

"So what if I take pride in my looks! Maybe you should try more! Then you might look a bit more handsome!" Draco snapped in outrage.

"Humph. You didn't seem to care about my looks last night…” Harry mumbled, snuggling his head back into the pillow.

"I-"

"Not now Draco. I'm trying to sleep." Harry said and pulled his pillow over his head.

Draco sat there, on the floor, stunned for a moment or two. Then he slowly picked himself up and dragged himself to the bathroom. He hadn't meant to hurt Harry. But then, Harry had called him a prat… and he'd had to retort. Of course he'd had to. Harry hadn't completely changed him. He was still a Malfoy and he still had pride. There was nothing Harry could do to change that. But now Harry was pissed off at him again. Great.

He sighed, stripped off and climbed into the shower. He turned it on and jumped as cold water hit him. He'd forgotten that the shower water needed time to heat up. He cursed himself and jumped out from under the water. Then he stood, shivering, while the water warmed up.

While he waited, he considered the enigma that was Harry. For it was true. Harry was an enigma. Draco couldn't predict anything that Harry was about to do or say. The boy was elusive. A mystery. And Draco loved that. But at the same time he hated it. He couldn't predict when Harry was about to fly off the handle and get annoyed at him. But then again, he didn't know the young man very well. Yet.

Draco tested the water tentatively and, finding it warm, stepped underneath the torrent of warmth. He smiled as the heat washed over him, stopping the shivers dead in their tracks. He closed his eyes and let it wash all his worries away. It almost felt like a hug. He leaned into it and found that it was indeed a hug. He spluttered and opened his eyes only to shut them again quickly as water tried to get in. He felt lips on his and leaned into the kiss, both because it was nice and to get his head out from under the stream of water.

He blinked the water out of his eyes to see Harry closed ones. He smiled into the kiss and Harry pulled away. The green eyes opened.

"Hi," Harry said simply.

"Hi." Draco was shocked. He didn't know what else to say.

"I thought I'd join you."

"I see."

"Yeah." They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other before Harry broke the silence again. "Nice shower," he said and Draco laughed.

"Thanks. I'm rather fond of it." Draco frowned. "How did you get in here?" he asked.

"I snuck in. You closed your eyes and I took my chance. I couldn't help myself. It looked so nice in here."

"What you mean, me, naked, appealed to you?"

"Uh. Yeah. That and the water…”

"Right," Draco said, unconvinced.

"What?" Harry looked mock outraged.

"You mean to tell me that you  _only_  came in here because the water looked nice…?”

"I never said that! I said I came because  _you_  looked nice… And the water did too."

"Oh." Draco looked down, ashamed, realized what was down there and looked back up again. "I see. Um… well… uh… could you pass the shampoo?" he said, unable to think of anything else to say to break the silence. Harry nodded and squatted down to get it. He looked up. Draco cringed. ' _Bad idea. Bad idea!_ ' he thought. ' _Damn it! He can see me!_ ' Harry stood up again.

"Not bad, not bad!" he said. Draco felt the color rise in his cheeks. Only slightly… He  _was_  a Malfoy after all. No matter how embarrassed he was.

Harry laughed. He was enjoying himself. He hadn't known what had possessed him to come and invade Draco's shower, it had just seemed like a good idea at the time. And the kissing… Well… that was just classic. Had to be done. And he'd rather enjoyed watching Draco squirm. He supposed it was because a short time ago they were arch rivals. But then he'd only been teasing.

And the boy sure was well endowed. But he couldn't do anything about or with that until later. Because that would be going back on what he'd said about taking things slowly. So instead, he washed himself quickly and left Draco to his shower, stealing one of Draco's towels for himself as he went.

He wandered back into Draco's room and proceeded to transfigure a pair of jeans into short shorts. Then he shrunk one of his shirts until it clung to him and then sat back down on the bed.

It was a while before Draco came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around waist, hair neat and dry. He was walking with composure, but then he saw Harry and burst out laughing.

"That's not a good look, Potter," he laughed.

"Shut up. At least I  _have_  a shirt!" Harry retorted.

"Touché." Draco pulled on a pair of underwear underneath his towel, before taking it off and throwing it on the bed next to Harry's.

"You look quite hot," Draco remarked, casually, pulling on his trousers.

"No I don't! I look gay!" Harry cried. Draco raised an eyebrow. "Well… openly gay… and flamboyant. Neither of which I am.."

"Wait… so does the Weasel know about you?"

"Yeah, duh. He sleeps in the bed next to me. He-"

"EW! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ESCAPADES WITH THAT FRECKLED… THING!" Draco yelled, covering his ears and squinching up his face. Harry rolled his eyes and hit Draco on the arm.

"What I was  _saying_ … was… that he can't help but notice when I bring boys…  _home_."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You mean… I had that mental image for no reason?"

"Um. Yeah."

"Damn it."

"Hey, join the bad mental image club! In my head I've seen Voldemort as a stripper and your dad in short shorts…”

"Well… that's  _nothing_  on seeing the real thing. About three times a week in the holidays!" Draco cried.

"Ok fine. You win." Harry conceded.

"Really?" Draco could scarce believe his ears.

"Yeah." It seemed there  _was_  something Draco Malfoy could beat Harry Potter in. Having a bad past. Or at least, scary. He was never kept in a cupboard. Closet maybe, but only the gay one. But he was out now, so it was all good.

_And_  now he got to watch Harry Potter prance around his house in short shorts… That cute little butt… In short shorts…  _Damn_ , life was good.

Yeah that and he was going out with the Boy Wonder.

If only he could be completely honest with him. Unashamed of his past. Tell him things. Like his scar. But if Harry knew about it, Harry would be shocked. Horrified. Angry. He'd want to do something about it. Get revenge. And that would be bad. It would destroy his family.


	14. Chapter 14

Harry sighed and glanced at the clock. They still had about ten minutes until they had to go down to breakfast. Draco was now getting dressed. Harry ignored him until he tried to put a shirt on. He whipped out his wand and summoned it out of the still ex-blonde's hands. Draco looked up, surprised. 

"No shirt for breakfast! Remember?" Draco scowled.

"Oh yes.  _That_." Harry threw the shirt back and Draco put it grudgingly away, muttering under his breath. Harry caught the words  _bloody Gryffindor_. He smirked and lay back on the bed. Draco trudged over to him and flopped down beside him. Harry turned his head to look at him and smiled.

There was a small frown on the other boy's face, but other than that, he was beautiful. But something was wrong. He looked strange with the dark hair. It didn't suit him. Harry took out his wand and muttered a spell. The brown melted from the hair and disappeared. Draco frowned again and looked over at Harry.

"What did you do?" Draco asked.

"Fixed you," Harry replied, smiling.

"What?"

"Well, something was wrong, so I changed it." Harry tried to keep the laughter from his voice.

"What? What was wrong?"

"Your hair." Realization dawned in Draco's eyes and he put up a hand and brought one of the now blonde again tresses in front of his eyes. He looked at it in wonder, smiling happily.

"You really like your hair don't you?" Harry remarked. Draco nodded. Silence fell between them, laying contentedly on the bed. Harry leaned over and pecked Draco on the cheek.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Why what? Did I kiss you? Because I wanted to."

"No… why did you change my hair back before the time of the dare was up?"

"I don't know. It looked wrong. And I guess also I wanted to cheer you up. You looked so grumpy about having to wear no shirt to breakfast." Draco laughed.

"Thank you." He kissed Harry full on the lips and Harry kissed him greedily back. He rolled on top of the blonde, praising the fact that he had no shirt and Harry could run his hands all over Draco. And, well, Draco didn't exactly  _mind_. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Harry could feel Draco being turned on and got rather excited himself.

But then Draco looked at the clock. And pushed Harry off.

"It's time for breakfast," he replied to Harry's confused look. Harry frowned but nodded and stood up. Draco glanced down at his short shorts and Harry went scarlet.

“I… just have to go to the bathroom before we go down," he said and ran off.

Draco was most amused. Although he had the same problem as Harry, he wasn't wearing short shorts that showed it off.

Harry returned a few minutes later, still looking rather embarrassed. Draco just laughed and pulled him out the door. He didn't seem to care that he didn't have a shirt on. Harry couldn't understand it. He felt so self conscious in the short shorts… But then… Maybe Draco was born with it in his genes… Well… Just look at Lucius…

He wasn't even embarrassed when they went into breakfast only to find 'Tom' there again. Harry tried to act cool. This was the Dark Lord after all. He couldn't show weakness in front of him. So he walked in as if nothing was wrong. Maybe he swung his hips a bit too. And so what if he smirked a bit too. He was Harry Potter. He could do what he damn well wanted in short shorts.

"What are you boys wearing? And…  _why_?" Lucius asked, looking up from he cereal.

"Well. Harry's wearing short shorts, Dad. And I'm wearing no shirt. Because… er…-“ Draco began.

"-Because we're pretending to be part of the Village People!" Harry interrupted. Draco looked confused but Lucius nodded.

"Not a bad attempt. You just need the hats… a bit more leather… and three more people…” he said. Harry suppressed a laugh. "Hey Tom! Do you want to help them dress up as the Village People?" Harry stopped mentally laughing immediately. 'Tom' looked up from his green tea.

"Hmm. It could be quite fun…” he mused.

"Well… actually… uh… we only wanted to be two of them…” Harry mumbled. He  _really_  didn't want to see 'Tom' and Lucius dressed up as the Village People.

"Yeah. I see you two have taken the best two. The Indian and the Cop. Well. Fine. We'll just go rehearse our new dance after breakfast instead." And he turned back to his newspaper. 'Tom' appeared to have noticed Harry and Draco only when Lucius had spoken and was now peering at them with interest.

"You know," he said. "You two would be great in the club."

"Excuse me?" Harry was in shock.

"Yeah. You have a great body. I may hate your guts, but still… you're damn hot. If I were… hmm… _many_  years younger… I might have a lot more difficulty hating you. Anyhow. You should dance for us. You would bring in more people. And we would pay you nicely for it-"

"-NO!" Harry interrupted him. "I will not dance for you! Why the hell would I want to further your revenue? And…  _empire_  of evil…?”

"Oh ho! So I have an 'empire of evil', do I? How cool!" Harry rolled his eyes. 'Tom' looked pleased. That wasn't what he had intended to do. He sighed and sat down at the table. Draco sat between him and 'Tom' and began helping himself to food.

'Tom' was still looking happy about having an empire of evil. Harry tried to ignore him and immerse himself fully in his cereal, but it was proving difficult. The smiling Dark Lord sitting one person down from him was really starting to disturb him. He really needed to be gotten rid of.

"Hey Voldemort," he said, making up his mind on the spot. (Never a good thing to do, but oh well, it was already done.)

"Yes Harry?" came the reply, still with a jolly note to it. It sounded almost like one of those sickly sweet, small children voices in scary movies. Harry shuddered.

"How about we battle it out? To the death? Without stopping this time, eh?" he asked. Draco looked up from his cereal, paler than usual.

"What?" he asked. Harry and Voldemort ignored him. Voldemort ('Tom') was looking calculatingly at Harry, as if trying to weigh up the odds. Draco looked one to the other with wide eyes. There was fear in his eyes. He didn't want Harry to get hurt… or… die…

"Alright, Potter," Voldemort said after a little more deliberation. "Prepare to die." Lucius, who had been watching this whole affair with almost amusement, stood up.

"Not in the house," he said, and sat back down again.

"But… but… DADDY!" Draco yelled. Lucius looked up. "YOU CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN! What if Harry…  _dies_!"

"I don't know. That's your problem. He's your boyfriend and  _he_  suggested it." Lucius went back to reading the paper.

"Where and when Potter?" Voldemort asked.

"Midday. On the Lawn." Harry replied. Draco coughed to cover his small whimper. No one noticed and the rest of breakfast was spent in silence with Draco dragging Harry away by his arm at the end.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco yelled at him the moment they got to his room.

"Defeating the Dark Lord, once and for all!" Harry replied, striking a gallant pose. Draco put his head in his hands in defeat.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" he moaned.

"See… That's where you're wrong!" said Harry, enthusiastically. "I have a plan!" Draco looked at him through his fingers. "See what I'm going to do is  _trick_  him!" He started laughing. Draco took his hands away from his face and stared at him, confused.

"Okay," said Draco, skeptically. "Are you going to tell me what this plan is?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's a complete surprise. But be watching."

"I don't think I can…” Draco said softly.

"What? Why not?"

"I don't think I have the strength… What if you die! What will I do! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me! I'll completely lose it if you die! I'll… I'll… throw myself off the roof!" He was starting to become hysterical. Harry put his hands on his shoulders and looked him square in the eye.

"Calm down," he said. "And just trust me. I know it's hard for you, but please.. just trust me."

"Okay." Draco nodded and took a few deep breaths. "Okay." Harry smiled and removed his hands. Draco's shoulders felt cold where the hands had left them. "But, so help me Potter, if you die, I'll kill you!" And he threw his arms around the brunette, hugging him tightly. Harry laughed into his shoulder.

"If I die you'll kill me, eh? So what will I be? An extra constituted ghost?" Draco hit him on the back with his hand.

"You know what I mean!" he cried.

"I know… I know… But stop worrying so much. Everything will be okay. Just trust me."

"I do."


	15. Chapter 15

"Really?" Harry asked, amazed.

"Yes," Draco replied. "I do." He leaned in and kissed Harry. Harry smiled into the kisses and returned them with vigor.

"Hey, Harry… I know we're taking things slowly and all that… but… can… how do I put this? Can we… I mean to say… you might  _die_  at twelve… And I would hate for you to have died and for us to not have…”

"Had sex?"

"Yeah."

"I won't die."

"How do you know!"

"I  _told_  you! I have a plan!" Harry said. Draco frowned but nodded. "But come on then. I have an hour or so before my duel." He laughed as Draco eagerly followed him to the bed.

…

A little while later they lay contentedly on Draco's bed. Their lovemaking had been rushed. Frantic. Draco didn't want to lose Harry. He didn't know what he would do if he did.

And Harry? Well, Harry was scared. He was hiding his fear behind a cocky façade but he was scared witless. What if his plan didn't work? What if it was impossible to trick Voldemort? What if he died…? He supposed if he died  _he_ wouldn't particularly care that much. He'd be dead. But what would the rest of the world do without him? He was their only hope. And when people have nothing else, they have hope. Hope to cling onto. If he, their hope, was taken away, he was scared to think what might happen.

Plus. He didn't want to die for personal reasons too… One day he hoped to father children. How, not liking women that way, he did not know, but even still, he wanted them. And he wanted to  _do_  something with his life, more than just inspire people and fight Voldemort. He wanted to be something other than just the Boy-Who-Lived. Maybe he'd become an author, or a poet. He would probably be able to write some great  _angsty_ poems.

Voldemort, you screwed me over. Again. 

Bastard. But now you shall feel the pain. 

I can't help it if you're hated. 

I'm just sad to say that your death is belated. 

So you must DIE BITCH DIE! 

And you ask me why? 

Because it's fated, it's in the stars. 

It may even be told by Mars. 

And you're a cold hearted evil man. 

But now, beware, for I have a plan. 

So you're gonna die! Today. 

And people will shout, hooray! 

And love me forever more.

No thanks to you, whore. 

Y ou killed my mum and dad. 

That was very, very bad. 

So now I shall kill you. 

And everyone will rejoice. 

Of course, I will join in too.

With a loud, happy voice!

Yes. He could make a  _great_  career out of that. But, alas, he had to fight Voldemort first. But his plan, he thought, was pretty good. He only hoped it all went right… The poetry world would suffer if it didn't. He sighed. He should probably start his preparation. He un wound his arm from Draco and slid out of bed.

Their clothes were all over the floor. Luckily Harry wasn't going to wear his 'Village People' clothes to duel, so he left them there. Draco looked sadly at him as he left. He went over to his trunk and pulled out a pair of his black school trousers and a black shirt. Then he pulled out his broom too.

"What's that for, Harry?" Draco asked, intrigued. "Do you want to go flying one last time in case you die?"

"You could say that." Harry said.

"Why are you looking so upbeat? Aren't you scared!" Draco cried, jumping up from the bed.

"I am scared. I'm just not showing it. I don't want to worry you.."

"Bloody Gryffindor," Draco muttered. He had pulled on his jeans by now. "You're about to go face the Dark Lord and you're worried about me!" Draco smirked. "It's  _you_  that you need to be worrying about! Screw me!"

"Anytime, Draco." Draco rolled his eyes, but, to be fair, it  _had_  been the innuendo he had been going for. "Time check?" Harry asked, squinting in the direction of the clock.

"Five to midday," Draco supplied, then gulped audibly. The humorous atmosphere disappeared at once.

"Okay. I have ten minutes," Harry said.

"Ten? But… to get down to the lawn on time… you should start going now!" Draco protested.

"Who said I was going to be on time?" Harry asked.

"Well… no one, but I just assumed… being a Gryffindor… you would…”

"Did I tell you I was nearly sorted into Slytherin?"

"Yes… you did… but…”

"Well, obviously I have some of  _those_  traits too then. Don't I?"

"Yeah… Oh… Right… Yes… I get you now… Except not really… Um… Yes…”

"Just wait and see," Harry said.

"I don't have to," Draco replied, his voice quiet. Harry squinted at the clock. "It's five past."

Draco felt numb. He might lose Harry. But he couldn't lose Harry! What would he do! He threw his arms around the brunette and held him in a tight embrace.

"Don't die," he whispered.

"I won't. Or at least… I'll try not to…” Harry whispered back. There were tears on Draco's face now, but for the first time he wasn't ashamed of them. Harry leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth. Just in case it was the last time. He felt his own eyes fill with tears and hugged Draco tightly. He pulled away, shaking his head so the tears splashed out. He needed a clear head.  _He had to do this_.

He went to the window and squinted down at the lawn. Sure enough, Voldemort was there. He nodded and opened the window, summoning his broom at the same time. Draco nodded and grabbed his own. He was going to follow Harry. Just in case.

Harry mounted his broom and flew out the window. He plummeted like a stone to the ground, his wand in his mouth. He pulled up at the last moment, grabbed his wand and yelled,

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort crumpled to the ground. Silent. Lifeless. Harry jumped off his broom and whooped loudly, jumping up and down. Draco landed behind him and hugged him quickly. Then he let go as Harry ran around happily.

"Petrificus totalus!" A voice cried out. Harry fell to the ground, unable to move. Voldemort strode out from behind a large tree. Harry cursed himself for thinking it would be that easy. Of course Voldemort would have a decoy.

"Tut, tut, Harry. Rookie mistake," Voldemort said. "Oh well… I guess it's time for you to die!" He laughed. "Finally." He raised his wand.

"Wait!" Draco cried. Voldemort seemed to have forgotten him. He put his wand down.

"What is it?" he asked, snappily.

“I… er… take me instead?" Draco asked, tentatively. Harry's eyes grew wide with fear. He tried to shake his head.  _NO!_  But he couldn't. Voldemort stopped to think about this for a moment.

"I can't," he said at last. "Your father would have a field day… refuse to perform. He'd probably quit. And then I'd have to kill him and that would be the end of my best dancer… We can't have that…”

"Then, take me as a Death Eater… Make me work in the club too… Just… let him live… at least until school starts…” Draco said, a note of desperation in his voice. Harry tried to scream out.  _NO!_  But he couldn't open his mouth.

"Well… this was  _supposed_ to be a duel to the death.  _But_  since we need more dancers… and you're hotter than most of the rest of them…” Draco shuddered mentally at this. He couldn't physically or Voldemort would change his mind and kill Harry. "You have a deal." Voldemort held out his hand for Draco to shake. His left hand. Draco stuck out his own left hand and Voldemort grabbed it and twisted it until the forearm was showing. Then he branded the Dark Mark on it with his wand. Draco screamed in pain. It was consuming him. He couldn't see. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Voldemort walked away, leaving Harry in the Body Bind Curse and Draco out cold.


	16. Chapter 16

Harry was horrified. Angry. He wanted revenge. But he was also ashamed. He'd been fooled. Draco had had to  _save_  him.  _He_  was supposed to be the savior! He didn't need saving! Or at least, he shouldn't have needed it. And now… Draco had taken the Dark Mark. For him. Oh, the shame. It was burning inside of him. Eating him up from inside. He felt sick.

Draco was still unconscious. His left forearm was facing Harry. Taunting him. Jeering. And Harry couldn't do anything about it. He was stuck. Stranded. Like a turtle on its back, except he had no shell to go in for protection. He was vulnerable. Weak. Stupid. Ashamed. Harry closed his eyes, squeezing out tears he hadn't realized were there. He could  _really_  write angsty poetry now. About how he'd failed. Everything and everyone.

He opened his eyes and the Dark Mark branded on Draco's arm branded itself on Harry's eyes. He tried closing them, but he could still see it. The wide, grinning skull. The snake coming out of the mouth, like a taunting stuck out tongue. It mocked him.

He was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to be the Savior of the Wizarding World! But he was in fact a failure. A nobody. He didn't deserve the love of the people. He deserved to be shunned. Forgotten. Hated. Cursed.

He cried wretchedly. Urging his whole body to be wracked with sobs, but still stuck in the Body Bind, stiff as a board. Only his chest heaved up and down with his tears. And eventually he stopped, exhausted. His mind was racing. He was still in shock. Angry. Upset. But mostly angry now.

Closing his eyes again he began to try and think of ways to defeat Voldemort. It would have to be subtle. Something he wasn't expecting. And it would be painful. Harry would pay him back for Draco. For the pain that the blonde had gone through for him. For the self sacrifice. The only thing that had saved Harry. Hell,  _Draco_  should be called the Savior of the Wizarding World. Or at least, the Savior of the Savior because it  _was_  fated that  _Harry_  would kill Voldemort. Not Draco.

Speaking of whom, Draco had slowly been coming round while Harry lay, his eyes tightly shut, plotting ways to kill Voldemort. He felt like he had the world's worst hangover. But he knew what it really was. And it made him want to cry. And yet, he wanted to be proud of himself at the same time, for saving Harry. That would be something to tell the grandkids. That and he'd slept with him. On second thoughts, maybe that wouldn't be  _such_  a good thing to tell the grandkids.

He opened his eyes cautiously and shifted until he could see his arm. It was hideous. He couldn't imagine Harry wanting him now. The thought made the tears well up in his eyes. He didn't know why. But he was proud nonetheless, even if Harry would now shun him.

Draco had never hated Voldemort until that moment. Sure, he'd thought the Dark Lord was evil but he'd never had cause to hate him. Now he did. Now he had to  _work_  for him… And… he would lose Harry because of him.. That was what made him hate Voldemort most. He didn't know why. He supposed he was in love. Although it had been an awfully short time in which he had fallen in love… And now he'd done  _this_  for love… He'd taken the Dark Mark. He'd pledged himself to Voldemort.

He was so screwed.

He sighed and rolled over. Harry was laying where he'd fallen. Draco supposed he couldn't move due to the Body Bind curse. Draco scrabbled in his pocket for his wand and took the spell off. Harry still didn't move. Draco's heart rate went up by several beats per minute. Was Harry dead anyway? Had Voldemort not stuck to his promise?

"Harry?" he asked tentatively, prodding the prone boy on the ground beside him. Harry's eyes snapped open. They were red from crying. "Harry!" Draco fell on the brunette, hugging him tightly around the middle. Harry didn't move, nor did he say anything. "Harry?"

Harry stirred and sat up, not looking at Draco. There were tear stains on his face.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

"Why do you care?" Harry said, dully.

"Because I care about you! You're my boyfriend! Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I failed you. And the rest of the world…”

"No you didn't! You just… miscalculated! That's all."

"Yeah," Harry said bitterly. "A miscalculation that could have cost me my life. If you hadn't interfered, I'd be dead right now."

"Well, I'm glad I did. I wouldn't want you to be dead."

"You don't regret what you did?" Harry prepared himself for the answer that was coming. The tirade of how he was a failure and had ruined Draco's life…

"Not really." Harry hadn't been prepared for that.

"Not really… so you do a bit?" He had to. He was only human. He would be resentful of Harry. He knew it.

"Well, only in the fact that now I have to serve Voldemort and work in his club and stuff. Not because of the fact that in doing it I was saving you. I  _wanted_  to save you. I didn't feel like it was an obligation to the Wizarding World or anything. I did it for me." Harry felt himself melting.

"Really?" Harry was still slightly skeptical.

"Really." And Draco kissed him. Just to prove it. He wanted to show Harry that he still cared about him, even if he'd been forced into taking the Dark Mark due to Harry's mistake. He didn't want Harry to feel guilty.

Harry pulled away. He was panting and his eyes were screwed up in pain.

"What is it Harry?" Draco asked.

“I… can’t… kiss… you." Harry said between breaths.

"Why not?"

"It… hurts… scar…” He moaned, clamping a hand to it.

"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry!" Draco cried.

"It must be the Dark Mark," Harry said wretchedly. His fault. His fault.

"I guess so." Draco mumbled. That was just  _lame_. Voldemort had taken away kissing! He supposed sex was out of the question too. "It's okay though. You get what I mean… Right?" Draco said, taking Harry's hand. Harry snatched it away, pain flashing in his eyes. "What the fuck? I can't even  _touch_  you! That's it. Voldemort is going DOWN." Draco Malfoy was pissed off. And you didn't want to be on the wrong side of an angry Draco Malfoy.


	17. Chapter 17

"Yeah. Eventually." Harry said, looking glum.

"No, Harry. SOON! GOD DAMN IT!"

"Whoa. Chill out!"

"No, Harry! I won't ‘ _chill out_ ’! I'm not allowed to bloody touch you! And I'm  _damn_  angry about it!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just… not in the mood for histrionics right now," Harry sighed.

"History what now?" Draco asked.

"It's another word for hysterics, Draco."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I would have thought you knew that… You're pretty smart."

"Well… I do  _now_!" Draco said, sulking. Harry ignored him. He was still pissed off with himself. What Draco was complaining about… not being able to touch him… it was all his fault. Why didn't he  _think_!  _Ever_? He sighed. Draco stopped sulking and looked at him with concern.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah… no… I don't know… I'm annoyed at myself for failing. It's my fault you can't touch me… I'm such a  _fool_." The last word was said with vehemence. There was an edge of self loathing in it too.

Draco put a comforting hand on his shoulder, then drew it away quickly realizing he'd just touched Harry. But no pain crossed Harry's face this time. And in fact, Draco had  _hugged_  Harry a few minutes ago! There was hope! Maybe it was just bare skin… Maybe… He hoped so. Not being able to touch Harry at all would be so difficult. Thinking of what the outcome could have been by now… There could have been celebratory sex… Draco stopped himself. It was no use wishing his life away. Instead he told Harry he thought he could touch him through clothes.

"Really?" Harry asked. He hoped that would be the case. He needed a hug…

"I  _think_  so…” Draco put his hand back on Harry's shoulder. They waited for a moment, just to be sure. When nothing happened, Harry launched himself at Draco, hugging him with a need that surprised even him.

Draco felt the wind being knocked out of him, but he didn't care. It showed him how much Harry cared. He knew now that Harry cared. He didn't care that it had only been a few days since they had realized they liked each other. It all just felt so right. Except for the fact that they couldn't touch each other now. Apart from with clothes on…

No more surprises in the shower. Or kisses in the corridor to shock Draco's parents. Or sex. Full stop.

Draco sighed. And now he'd have to go dance in the club too! As if he needed more reason to hate Voldemort right then. The whole non touching thing was bad enough. Still… hopefully he'd get paid. That was  _something_. He voiced this thought aloud to Harry and Harry laughed before scowling.

"But… the Empire of Evil! In dancing… you'll be furthering it!" he cried. He was still lying on top of Draco.

"Oh yeah…” he said. "Damn."

"It's ok. We'll think of something."

"For what?" Draco asked.

"To get you out of there, of course!" Harry replied.

"Oh… right… yeah…”

"Yeah."

"Well… you could always… defeat Voldemort. Catch him off his guard…”

"That didn't work though… And look where we are now!" There was a worried expression on Harry's face. Draco wanted to get rid of it… It  _was_  what caused wrinkles after all!

"That's not what I mean. I mean, we need to  _not tell him we're going to kill him_  and then take him by surprise and kill him."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I think that's where you went wrong last time…”

"This time, you mean." Harry said, softly.

"Yeah." They fell silent. Somewhere in the distance they heard several people apparating.

"Death Eaters…” Harry mumbled.

"Probably," Draco agreed. "Come to celebrate their newest member." And indeed they saw several people in dark robes walking towards them. Harry made to get off of Draco, but Draco stopped him.

"Don't leave me," he whispered.

"Okay… I won’t… if you don't want me to."

"I don't." The group of black robed people were closer now. They weren't wearing masks. Harry made a note to remember who they were. Lucius, Avery, Nott, Goyle Snr, Crabbe Snr, Crabbe Jnr (even Draco looked surprised at this) and Mac Nair. Harry gripped his wand tightly. If it was a fight they wanted, he'd be ready for them.

However when they arrived, Draco was right, they  _had_ come to celebrate the fact that Draco was now a Death Eater. There was a big party planned for that evening. Nothing fancy as it was spur of the moment, but of course Draco had to be there. Harry didn't want to ask if he was allowed to come. He was sure they'd say no. Someone from the Order seeing what the Death Eaters do for fun! Heaven forbid!

He didn't need to ask anyway. Draco asked for him. He was scared of being alone with the other Death Eaters. They were all bigger than him and could easily beat him up… or even rape him. He wanted Harry there as protection. He didn't think they'd let him bring Harry, but he thought it was worth asking. As it was they said no, but at least Harry knew that he'd given it thought.

The Death Eaters left soon after they'd given Draco his invitation and instructions on how to get to the party. It was starting in an hour's time. Then, Harry and Draco were left alone again. Harry realized that he was  _still_ laying on Draco. The Death Eaters had ignored this. But it didn't matter. They were gone now.

"Shall we go back up to my room then?" Draco asked after a while.

"Yeah I s'pose so," Harry replied, untangling himself from Draco. Their brooms were still on the ground where they'd dropped them. It seemed so long ago… They had still been able to touch each other. Hell, it was only a short time since they'd had sex and it already seemed like an age! But then again, anguish seems to go by so much more slowly than joy. Time flies when you're having fun and all that.

They arrived back in Draco's room shortly. Flying took so much less time than walking, especially in Draco's overly large house. The room was as they left it. Clothes strewn everywhere from their wild love making. A painful reminder of what could have been.

Draco glanced at the clock. Harry had a flashback to a few hours ago when they were seeing if they had enough time to… He stopped the flashback there. Too painful.

"I should start getting ready," Draco said. Harry nodded and slumped down onto the couch. He idly picked up the book that was still on Draco's table and began to read. He wasn't taking any of it in and he knew it. It was just something to do.

He fell asleep on the couch, and when he awoke, Draco had gone, leaving him a note.

_Harry,_

_I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful, no, unworried, when you were asleep. I'll be back as soon as they let me go!_

_Yours,_

_Draco_

Harry frowned dejectedly. It looked as though he would have to amuse himself until Draco came back. He sighed, got up from the couch and stretched. The clothes were still all over the floor. He began to pick them up, reliving the memory.

It gave him something to do. And think about. And very soon he was crying. Not long after that he was too upset to continue and just sat on the floor and cried. Alone. Not knowing when Draco would be back. Not even knowing when he'd left. Not knowing if they would even  _let_  him come back.

They had to.

That was all that kept Harry from insanity.

They had to. He was Lucius's son. They couldn't kill him. They'd have to let him come back

They had to.


	18. Chapter 18

The next few days passed in a haze for Harry. He spent his time in Draco's room while Draco was taken out and shown the ropes of being a Death Eater. He would always come back pale, tired and horrified at the things he'd seen and been expected to do. He went to sleep as soon as he came back. Harry was sympathetic, though, and didn't push matters. But it meant he didn't really had a chance to see Draco or talk to him.

Finally the last day of the holidays rolled around. Harry was looking forward to school. It would give him something to do  _other_  than wait for Draco to come home. He'd read  _Boy Meets Boy_  about five times now and was starting to be able to quote it:

_There isn't really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best. Back when I was in second grade, the older gay kids who didn't flee to the city for entertainment would have to make their own fun. Now it's all good. Most of the straight guys try to sneak into the Queer Beer bar. Boys who love boys flirt with girls who love girls. And whether your heart is strictly ballroom or bluegrass punk, the dance floors are open to whatever you have to offer._

_This is my town. I've lived here all my life._

Harry stopped there… It was quite lame really. It was a good book, but he  _really_ needed something else to do with his time. And he  _still_  was dying to know where Draco had gotten his scar from. He wanted to ask every time Draco came home. But every time Draco came home, he would go straight to sleep. Not that Harry blamed him… He just wanted to know… Harry decided that he'd ask again before they went back to school. That night.

He sighed. He didn't know what would happen when they went back to school. Would they have a secret relationship? Would they have a relationship at all? What would Ron and Hermione say! He tried not to think about the last one too much. If they didn't support him, they shouldn't be his friends, although, he could see  _why_  they wouldn't like Draco. He could be a bit of a bastard at times. And at others more than a bit…

He fretted about this for about fifteen minutes without coming to any real conclusion and in the end decided he should discuss it with Draco. But Draco was still out. Harry sighed and flopped down on the bed. He hoped they would let Draco come home earlier than usual tonight. He  _did_  have to pack. Although, to be fair, the house elves _had_  packed for him already. Lazy bugger.

At the thought of packing, Harry sat up. He should really start his own packing pretty soon. It was almost three in the afternoon, although where the time had  _gone_  eluded Harry completely. He stood up. His things were all over Draco's room and he had to  _find_  all of them before he could start packing. He was shocked that Draco didn't mind his stuff being all over the room. Draco was always so  _tidy_. But maybe that was the house elves. Harry didn't know. Or particularly care.

He began languidly to pick his things up and throw them into his trunk. He was already bored. He was never so untidy at the Dursley's house. But then again, the room wasn't as big. Nor was he afraid of getting kicked out of the house here. He suddenly remembered Draco packing for him at the Dursleys. He'd used MAGIC!

Cursing himself for his stupidity, he pulled out his wand and packed everything with a wave and a muttered incantation. There. Now he had the rest of the afternoon free to do… nothing. Again. He sighed and looked around the room. Spying a bookshelf in the far corner he wandered over to it. He didn't know why he hadn't ventured here before now, but there was no time to be worrying about that now. He had  _entertainment_!

One shelf in particular grabbed his attention. It was labelled ' _Picture Books_ ' Harry laughed. Draco Malfoy _still_  read picture books? He pulled one out at random and flipped open a page. Immediately sound filled his head. There was a moving picture on the page in front. Harry snapped the book closed. He looked at the title:  _Are You Being Served?_  Wasn't that the name of an old British TV show? Harry opened the book again. Sure enough, the sound filled his head again and this time he watched the picture and found that the sound corresponded with it. It was like watching TV! Only in a book! How clever…

Harry closed  _Are You Being Served?_  and looked at some of the titles of the other ' _Picture Books_ '.  _Blackadder I-IV_ ,  _Fawlty Towers_ ,  _Little Britain_ ,  _Star Wars_ ,  _Spaceballs_  and _Waking Ned Divine_  to name but a few. He pulled out  _Blackadder Goes Forth_ and settled down to watch.

Several hours later he set the 'book' down. His sides ached slightly from laughing, but that he supposed was a good kind of pain. He pulled out Little Britain next, but halfway through Episode One, Draco came home. He looked just as exhausted as he had been on previous nights, but this time he had a smile on his face.

"Hi," Harry said.

"Hi!" Draco replied, unusually happy for looking so tired.

"How was it?" Harry asked.

"Hellish. But it's over now. Back to school! I never thought I'd be so excited to go back to school…” Harry smiled. "What are you watching?" Draco asked.

"Little Britain."

"Nice one. Have you seen the one where Andy gets dressed up as a smurf yet?"

"Um… no… I'm only on Episode One."

"Oh… Well… that's  _my_ favorite." He started laughing just thinking about it. Harry smiled. He was glad to see Draco happy again. The tired, 'I-Hate-Being-A-Death-Eater-Voldemort-Should-Go-DIE' Draco was slightly depressing.

Harry closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

"I see you've packed," Draco observed. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, it didn't take me long after I realized I could do it by magic!" he laughed. Draco smiled.

"And how long did it take for you to realize that?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Only five minutes…” But Harry was smiling. Draco was back. For a long time. And tomorrow there was school! No more Voldemort at breakfast, taunting him through his mere existence. Just nice, mind numbing work. And friends. They were good too! That reminded him, he had to talk to Draco about their relationship in terms of their friends and what was going to happen.

"Anyhow," Harry said, changing the topic. "Speaking of school. What are we going to do about our relationship?"

"I hadn't really thought about that yet…” Draco said, frowning. "I mean, I suppose we should just tell people about it. They're bound to find out sooner or later anyway. I mean, you're Harry Potter… and I’m… well…  _damn sexy_. People  _care_  who we're seeing, what we do. They'd just find out."

"Well, no one's ever found out about my relationships before…” Harry said.

"Oh yes they have."

"WHAT?" Harry was shocked.

"People knew you and Seamus had  _something_  going on. You two always flirted with each other. And of course people knew about you and Terry. You were an item."

"But I… thought we kept it-" Draco cut him off.

"-Secret? Hate to break it to you, but you didn't. Someone saw you two one time, making out in a classroom…”

"Oh."

"Yeah. They don't know about Wood though."

"Oh… good."

"Yeah… So a secret relationship won't work."

"I guess not."

"So we tell people about us."

"Okay. I'm not sure how my friends will handle this… but… yeah…”

"Mmh… me neither. I mean, Vince already knows… he saw you laying on top of me the day I… well… got this…” He showed Harry his left forearm. Harry nodded.

"I remember," he said softly, looking down at the ground. His fault. His fault.

"It's okay, Harry. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" There were tears welling up. Tears that had been kept in too long. " _I_  failed and  _you_  had to save me!"

"See that's where you're wrong. I didn't  _have_  to save you. I wanted to, Har. I didn't do it to save the Wizarding World because you're the only one who can kill…  _him_ … Damn it. I'm too selfish for that! I did it because I  _wanted_ to. I couldn't watch you die… Hell… Harry… you've taken over my life! In this short time you've been here. Completely taken over my life… taken over… me…”

Harry looked up. Draco had walked over to him and was standing in front of him. Harry took him by the sleeve and pulled him onto the couch next to him. Then he hugged him. Draco felt all the breath squeezed out of him by Harry, but didn't care. He loved the feeling. Just like he thought he was beginning to love Harry. He definitely liked him. A lot.

And it was true. The Boy Wonder had taken over his life. He had a long time ago. Only then all he'd felt was hate. And maybe a bit of lust. But, as they say, there's a fine line between love and hate. And boy, did Draco know it…


	19. Chapter 19

Harry's tears had subsided into sobs. Little small ones that sounded almost like hiccups. He was still clinging onto Draco as though his life depended on it. He felt rather small and pathetic doing this, but Draco didn't seem to notice. Either that or he just enjoyed protecting Harry. Comforting him.

"Did you mean it?" Harry asked quietly. Draco turned his head and looked at him with a confused expression.

"Mean what?" he asked.

"What you said… about me… taking over you…?” Harry looked at him through his tear filled eyelashes. Draco felt something in him melt. Again! What was with this melting thing? He guessed it was Harry.

"Um… well…” he suddenly found himself very inarticulate. "I well… yeah…” he looked down at his hands, not daring to look at Harry. He'd blown it. He was sure of it. He'd gone too far. Too fast.

But Harry hugged him harder. Draco gasped for breath again.

"Sorry," Harry said.

"It's okay. I know it's just cause you care," Draco said, smiling. Happiness was swelling inside of him. This made his whole hellish week worth it. Almost. The week still won, but it wasn't so bad it made him want to curl up into a little ball and never come out again anymore.

They sat that way for a while, just sitting in each others arms. Then Harry spoke.

"Draco," he said quietly, snuggling up to the blonde's arm.

"Yes Harry?"

"I like you too. A lot. Maybe even love. I don't know. I'm not good with words the way you are… It's hard to describe the way I feel… You're… the most… beautiful… terrifying… remarkable and dangerous thing that's ever happened to me. When I'm with you, nothing makes sense, and yet, everything does…”

“I… I… don't know what to say…” Draco said.

"I'm not surprised. I'm not sure how much sense I just made."

"No… you did make sense. To me you made perfect sense. I feel the same way… This relationship… short as it has been… has been beautiful… and all those things you mentioned…” Draco said. Harry smiled. He wanted so badly to lean over and kiss the blonde, but knew he couldn't.

"And…” Draco continued speaking. "I feel… I should tell you… where my scar is from. I mean… you've told me so much about you… and well… I should just get over my trust issues and… yeah… so… uh… here goes…” He clears his throat. Harry was holding his breath. "Just… don't begrudge… well… just… promise me you won't fly off the handle or anything…”

"I promise… to try and keep my emotions under control, but.. this thing has been bothering me for so long… I thought about it all the time you were away… in the shower… just before going to sleep… in the middle of a book… all the time… so… uh… yeah… I'll try… but… I can't promise…”

"Okay, fair enough…” Draco said. He took a deep breath. He  _couldn't_ do this… But he had to. Harry deserved it. Especially now that Draco knew how much it had been bothering the brunette.

"Well… you know how Voldemort is evil?"

"Yes. He should DIE BITCH DIE! But yes… carry on…”

"Yeah, so… he has a special way of training his Death Eaters…” he closed his eyes. "He… he… well… sends them back in time… and… makes them fight in gladiator arenas…”

"WHAT!" Harry yelled.

"Yeah, so they can get over the horror of having to kill someone… by… killing someone to save themselves…”

"Did you have to do this? This week?" Draco swallowed hard and nodded. Harry started to say something but Draco stopped him. "That's not the point of this story, Har."

"Right. Yes. Keep going. I'll get pissed off at Voldemort for that later." Draco half laughed, then shook his head and continued talking.

"Yeah, so my father had to go through that… a long time ago… and he knew that one day I would have to… So… he began training me… as soon as I could walk. Not to kill… just to use a sword." Harry nodded. He could see where this story was going… And he didn't like the sound of it.

"But at the same time," Draco continued. "Voldemort employed him to train other Death Eaters… And there was one in particular.. I think his name was Reginald… And my father became besotted with him… And… one day after class, he told Reginald how he felt. Reginald rejected him. And they fought.

“Reginald fled, leaving my father in a horrible rage… He apparated home and threw his sword across the room to get rid of some of his emotion… thinking it would be empty… Only I was there. And it hit me square in the back…” Harry was shaking. He wasn't angry. Just… hurting for Draco's pain.

"He didn't want anyone to know about it, so he didn't take me to St. Mungo's. He still says he should have. He healed me. But I was left scarred… But… I don't hate him for it. He didn't mean it…” Draco felt a tear drip down his face. He looked at Harry who was shaking with what must be suppressed rage.

"Please don't do anything about it… it's past history… don't be angry…” Draco pleaded. Harry said nothing. He was trying to form sentences, but the words were evading him. He was indignant, sure, but not angry.

“I… I'm not… angry…” he said at long length. "Just… hurting with the pain you must have been in…” Harry was staring at a spot on the opposite wall. Transfixed.

"He didn't mean to… he  _is_  my father… and he may not seem like he loves me, but… in his own way he does… And I love him too…”

"I know you do," Harry said. “I’m… just… in shock… That's all… Although… it's not as bad as I imagined it to be…”

"How did you imagine it?"

"Many different ways… Torture from Voldemort, beatings from…”

"My father?"

"Well… Yeah…”

"He's never lain a finger on me… at least not intentionally… My mother would be furious. And he really loves her… And I mean properly loves her… he doesn't show it much to the outside world, but… he would do anything for her…” Draco trailed off. Harry nodded slowly. "And she would do anything for me," he said as an afterthought. Harry smiled.

"But enough of this depressing talk! It's school tomorrow!" Draco said, standing up and doing a small dance. Harry raised his eyebrows. "What?" Draco asked.

"Nothing.." Harry smirked. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Whatever… I'm excited… that's all… NO MORE BLOODY DEATH EATER WORK!" he danced again.

"Yeah!" agreed Harry, his spirits lifting. "And maybe we can look up a way that I can touch you…” Draco stopped dancing and looked at Harry thoughtfully.

"You know, Potter… That's not a bad idea…”

"No shit, it's not a bad idea!" Harry cried. Draco rolled his eyes again. "Why didn't we think of this earlier?"

"Because I was out most of the time learning how to fight and dressing in drag… Not both at the same time of course…” Harry laughed. "Yeah. It's funny for  _you_ , Potter, but for me… gah… hell… But… they're thinking of making me wear short shorts and no shirt instead of drag… I don't make a great girl… unlike my dad…” He laughed. Harry tried to look amused with him. "Oh come on, Har, don't look so pained! It was a  _joke_. You know  _joke_ , as in… funny?"

"Yeah, I got that. I was just… thinking… that… I don't want other people to see you with no shirt on!"

"Ooh, Possessive Potter!

"Yes, damn it! You're mine! I don't want to share you!" Draco laughed. Harry looked like a grumpy child. "And… I  _don't_  want them hurting you." Draco stopped laughing. Harry no longer looked like a child, he just looked like a very angry young man. "If anyone so much as lays a  _finger_  on you, tell me, and they will wish they hadn't. They will wish they never laid  _eyes_  on you. No one messes with Harry Potter." His emerald eyes flashed.

"Apart from Voldemort."

"Damn it. Yes, apart from Voldemort." Harry scowled.

"And me."

"What?"

"I mess with you… well… mess  _around_  with you…” Draco laughed. Harry's gaze softened.

"Yeah, but you're allowed to. You're special. I care for you." Draco smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you," Harry said. And to prove how much he cared, he leant over and kissed Draco, despite the blinding pain in his forehead.


	20. Chapter 20

Draco was surprised when Harry kissed him. He had to admit, he'd sure missed the kisses. But he knew it must be hurting Harry and so quickly pulled away.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"It hurts you doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but… for you… the pain's worth it…”

"But I don't want you to be hurt… I'd be happier safe in the thought that you were okay, rather than happy that I get to kiss you…” He shrugged a shoulder. Harry gave him a small smile.

"Okay," he said and snuggled up to Draco's clothing covered body. That didn't hurt at least. Draco slung his arm around Harry's shoulder and they sat that way for a while until Harry mentioned school.

"I'll be glad to be getting back," he said.

"Yeah, me too. Get away from all this madness." Draco sighed.

"Tell me about it! Are your summers always this eventful?"

"You mean, do I get the Dark Mark every summer and go to training? No. But yeah…  _he_ is over all the time…”

"Sounds like a rave."

"Er… no."

"It's called  _sarcasm_ , Draco…”

"Oh… right… yeah…” He yawned and stretched his arms out.

"Are you tired?"

"Just a bit." Draco smiled and closed his eyes. He swayed for a moment then dropped his head onto Harry's shoulder.

"Come on, let's get some sleep," Harry said. "Because… we've got school tomorrow!" He smiled, then, noticing that Draco hadn't responded, glanced down at the blonde. He was still resting on Harry's shoulder. "You sure are tired, aren't you?" he said kindly. He transferred Draco's head to the back of the sofa and stood up. Draco didn't move. Harry sighed, picked him up and carried him to the bed.

Draco opened a bleary eye as Harry deposited him onto the mattress. He smiled and shut his eyes again. Harry took out his wand and used it to change Draco into his pajamas. Then he tucked the blonde under the covers and began to get ready for bed himself.

He sighed as he slipped under the covers for the last time. It sure had been an experience.,. One he would never forget… How could he? Draco would always be there as a reminder… both of the fun, and the failure. But he couldn't dwell on that now… He had to sleep because tomorrow was going to be a busy day. He shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift into sleep.

He was awoken at seven thirty by Draco hitting him with a pillow.

"Mmph," he said. "What was that for?"

"Uh… to wake you up?" Draco asked hopefully. Harry scowled at him and Draco laughed. "Oh come on! Get up you lazy arse." Harry grumbled and turned over. Draco hit him again with the pillow. "You have to get up! It's time to get ready for school!" At this point Harry squeaked and fell unceremoniously out of the bed.

"School!" he cried happily waving his hands in the air. This was difficult as he was laying face down. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone be so  _happy_  to go back to school," he said. "Are you always like this?"

"Yep," Harry replied, turning over and sitting up. "I can never  _wait_  to get away from the Dursleys’. But hopefully after this year, I won't have to go back there anymore." He grinned happily at the thought.

"Are they really  _that_  bad?" Draco asked.

"Well… I mean… they're aren't  _completely_  awful to me… They just treat me as if I were free labour. In short."

"Do I want to hear In long?" Draco asked.

"No."

"Okay. I won't ask."

"Well… also… I can't be bothered to tell anyhow…”

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Fair enough… Now… Get up! Get dressed! We're leaving in an hour." Draco cried. Harry sighed and pulled himself up from the floor. He wanted to jump around the room in joy. He was going back to Hogwarts! Back to  _some sort_  of normality… Well… a vague sort of normality…

And he would get to see Ron and Hermione! And Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Neville,  _everyone_! He smiled and summoned some clothes from his trunk to wear.

"So what are we going to tell everyone?" Harry asked, a little while later as he was pulling on his socks.

"Well… I guess… the truth… perhaps leaving out the fact that I was made to become a Death Eater… I mean… you can tell Ron and Hermione that… Because… you trust them… and they're your friends and all… But I don't want  _everyone_  to know about it.." He looked down at the floor.

"It's okay," Harry said. "I won't say a word." Draco smiled. Harry shrugged and started to pull his shoes on. As he was doing so, a thought struck him. "Hey Draco," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Why were you so afraid of telling me about your scar?"

"Well… to be honest… I… I don't know… It was really silly of me really… I just… thought you'd take it the wrong way… and blame my father… and hunt him down… That would have destroyed my family. That scar almost did anyway. Dad… had to… tell Mum about… Reginald… which meant admitting that… he liked guys too… She thought… he didn't love her anymore… it was awful… They had the argument in my room. They thought I was asleep. Knocked out from the pain or something…

"She was angry at him for not taking me to hospital. She never left my side. He was crying. They were whisper shouting. She wanted to know why he was so angry. He made something up about the Dark Lord's new idea for a porn stall being disguised as a farm animal video stall… (It was a crap idea. All the movies had titles like:  _Baaaa-d_   _Girls_ ,  _Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other)_ and  _In the Moooo-d_ ) But she got the truth out of him. He broke down and told her. And it almost destroyed their marriage. She thought he didn't love her, which wasn't true. He  _did_ love her, but he also liked Reginald. He tried to explain it to her, but she wouldn't listen. For a long time I was the only thing that kept them together.

"They did sort it out eventually, but I don't want anything like that to happen again. I didn't want the subject breached in case they started arguing again. In case it brought up memories." Draco was staring at the wall. Harry walked over to him and wrapped his arms around the blonde.

"Shh. It's okay. Nothing's going to happen. I'm sure as hell not going to tell anyone about it. Your secret's safe with me." Draco said nothing but snuggled into Harry's shoulder. Harry patted him on the back and, gritting his teeth, kissed him on the top of the head. Draco pulled away and looked at Harry. Harry stared back at him.

"Thanks."

"It's okay." Draco smiled and Harry couldn't help but grin back.

"Shall we get ready to go?" Draco asked.

"Yeah!" Harry cried, suddenly enthusiastic again. "Wait… I…  _am_  ready though…” he said.

"Good, then you can help me."

"Haven't you packed yet? Or rather had it done? I swear I saw Bumbi do it for you." Harry said.

"Did she? Oh good. This means we can now spend this extra time having interesting conversations!" Harry wasn't sure if Draco was being sarcastic or not.

"Like what?"

"I don't know… how about… trees?" Harry stared. "What! It was the first thing that came to mind!"

"You mean it was the first thing you saw out of the window," Harry corrected him.

"Same thing.”

"Sure."

At this point they were interrupted by Bumbi (speak of the devil) (albeit small… and… dishcloth wielding) who came to announce that the car would be leaving in twenty minutes and that they should go and say their goodbyes. Harry and Draco nodded and she disappeared again, taking their trunks with her.

"Shall we?" Draco asked. Harry nodded and they walked out the door and straight into…


	21. Chapter 21

"Shall we?" Draco asked. Harry nodded and they walked out the door and straight into Lucius and Narcissa. Harry was almost unsurprised to see them. He was however surprised at their outfits. Lucius was dressed as a fairy and Narcissa was dressed as a 20's Gangster (complete with violin case).

"Uh… mum? Dad?" Draco asked, clearly shocked by his parents' attire.

"Honey, don't look so shocked. We're going to a fancy dress party," Narcissa said gently.

"Oh. Right. Yeah. I knew that…” Draco said quickly. He smiled. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yes, that's right. A fancy dress party," Lucius agreed. "We just wanted to come and say goodbye! Have a good school year-"

"-Don't upset the teachers," Narcissa cut in.

"Basically, Draco.. Behave yourself. With…” Lucius gesticulated at Draco's arm. "That. We need to be really careful. I don't want you to be expelled. Or come home for Christmas. You have to stay in school. It's your only hope of doing as little service as you have to. Do you understand? I don't want to go through all that we have to."

"Yes, father, I understand." But Draco's heart sank. It would be his first Christmas away from home. He knew it was for the best, but it still upset him. ' _Voldemort's going down_ ,' he thought, grinding his teeth.

"Right. So the car is waiting outside now… Run along boys. Have fun!" Lucius cried. Narcissa hugged them both and then shooed them away down the corridor.

"Do you think they'll be okay, Lucius?" Narcissa asked as they watched the receding backs.

"Yes, as long as they don't get themselves into trouble," Lucius replied.

"That's what I'm worried about… You know how Draco's always been… In and out of the headmaster's office. We're always getting owls about it." She looked at him, worry shining in her grey eyes.

"I know. But it will be fine. He knows he has to be extra good. Because of the whole not getting expelled or you have to work for 'Tom' thing… At least… I hope he does…” Lucius ran a hand through his hair.

"I hope so too… I hope so too." Narcissa turned and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction, her heels clicking on the uncarpeted floor. Lucius watched as the boys rounded the corner and then followed her.

….

The journey to Kings Cross was uneventful. Harry and Draco played cards and chatted idly about the weather, Quidditch and school. Neither of them brought up Voldemort. They didn't have to worry about him for a while. Sure, at school they might plot about how to bring him down next time they saw him, but for the moment there was no need. They had time for that.

On the journey they discussed again what to tell their friends about their relationship. Harry was dreading having to tell Ron and Hermione about it. He knew how they would react. Ron would screw up his face in disgust and ask if Harry had gone insane.  _C'mon Har. This is_ Malfoy _we're talking about… Ferret boy. He's evil!_  Hermione would look worried. She would ask Harry if he was sure this was the right thing to do. She'd probably think Draco had kidnapped him and that he'd gotten Stockholm Syndrome.  _Just make sure you think this through, Harry. I mean, think about how badly he's treated us all this time!_  Ron would nod. It would never work.

"Maybe we should keep this a secret," Harry said quietly.

"But… news is sure to get out!" Draco protested. Half of Slytherin probably knew already anyhow. Thanks to Goyle.

"Not if we're careful."

"But Har, how could it not? You're famous… and I’m… I guess… infamous." He laughed a little at this. Harry frowned.

"My friends would never understand." Draco looked at him for a moment, then turned away.

"Maybe you're right. Weasley hates me. And Granger, well, I've given her no reason to like me…” He stared at his hands. As much as he hated to admit it, Harry really was right. "I guess…” he swallowed hard. "I'll pretend to hate you still. Put on the old mask of cold indifference. Pretend I want to hit you rather than kiss you." He hung his head.

"It's for the best," Harry whispered.

"Sure."

"Look… maybe we can come out later. Say we.. I don't know… stumbled into each other in an empty dark classroom, really needing… release… we didn't see who it was until it was too late. And then. Well. I wanted to go out with you because… you're  _damn_  good in bed!" Harry grinned lopsidedly. Draco sighed.

"Yeah, I s'pose. But, damn it Potter, we'll need a better story than that. It's  _so_  clichéd."

"Ha. Yeah. I know. Stories aren't my strong point. Why the hell do you think I'm in trouble so often! I can't lie myself out of situations."

"Right. Well… I'm not  _much_  better, but I'm sure we'll think of something. And I guess I'll tell the Slytherins that it was a ploy over the summer to get you into Voldemort's grasp so that he could learn more about you. And then tell Crabbe I'll fuck him up if he tells anyone the truth. I don't know. I'll work out the finer details later." Harry smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

"It's okay. For you, it's okay." He smirked.

They went separate ways when they reached the train station. They didn't want to arouse suspicion after all. Harry suddenly felt very alone as he pushed his trolley towards the magical gate between Platforms Nine and Ten. He sighed and walked through it.

Immediately, the hustle and bustle of Platform Nine and Three Quarters engulfed him and he grinned. It felt good to be back. Even if it  _was_  without Draco. He spotted Ron and Hermione standing by the door of a carriage about half way down the train. They were looking nervously around and clutching each others hands as if there were no tomorrow. Harry smiled and pushed his trolley towards them.

"Hi!" he said when he reached them.

"Oh, Harry! Hi." Hermione said. She smiled.

"Mate! Good to see you!" Ron cried. He extended his free arm and patted Harry awkwardly on the shoulder. Harry felt his stomach roll. Did they somehow  _know_  about him and Draco?

"What's up?" he asked.

"We'll discuss it when we get inside, mate," Ron said, looking shifty. Harry frowned but nodded. His stomach did another flip. How could they know? He was terrified. He'd have to confess everything. It was going to be a long journey.

…

Draco sighed. He felt utterly alone. The bustling platform held no joy for him. He had no real friends to look forward to seeing. Sure, there was Blaise and Pansy, but they were always too wrapped up in themselves to really talk to him anymore. He was glad they were happy together, he only wished they paid him more attention sometimes. He usually felt like a third wheel these days.

And sure enough, when he entered the compartment where they usually sat, they were sitting together. Pansy giggling at something Blaise had just said. Blaise staring at Pansy in delight. It almost made him gag.

But it made another part of him oddly jealous now. He wished he could do that with Harry. And not care what everyone else thought. He sighed and pulled out a book to read. It was going to be a long journey.


	22. Chapter 22

Harry followed Ron and Hermione into the carriage as slowly as he could. He knew he was only prolonging the inevitable, but it was the least he could do. He pretended to be having trouble with his trunk. Ron looked back at him.

"Why don't you levitate it, mate?" he asked. Harry sighed and muttered the spell. Immediately the trunk floated into the carriage. He wanted to bang his head against a wall, but thought it might look suspicious to other passers by and so didn't. He sighed and followed his trunk into their compartment.

He sat down opposite Ron and Hermione and stared out of the window at the people still milling around outside. At this point they were mostly parents as the train was nearly ready to depart. Ron cleared his throat and Harry looked back at them.

"Uh, Har, we just want to say, that it's okay. Things will still be normal between us," he said.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. Harry felt his worry leave him slightly. "We still love you just as much as we always did."

"It's okay if you don't understand it, we don't much ourselves to be honest. It was so unexpected," Ron said. Harry frowned. Why wouldn't  _he_  understand it?

"Yes, it's just that he's so… different from everyone else, you know?" Hermione said.

"Um, guys? What the hell are you on about?" Harry was utterly confused.

"Oh. Right. Um. Well, Hermione came to stay over the summer, and well, I asked her out."

"And I said yes." Harry stared at them. The worry left his stomach. They didn't know about Draco and him. He breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

"What? Oh right. Um… good for you," Harry said. He felt strangely sad. They were an item and he was left on the side. Alone. Draco wasn't with him. He had to pretend to hate him. Ron and Hermione had nothing to hide. He wished he didn't either.

"But it's okay," Hermione assured him quickly. "We won't act any differently than we used to." Harry smiled and nodded. He looked out of the window again. The only people left on the platform now were parents. They were all waving. Harry supposed the train was about to leave.

Sure enough, at that moment the train began to move. Harry watched until the people melted away and turned into blurred buildings flashing past.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mione," he said, not taking his eyes away from the window. "I just… have to go to the bathroom." He stood up. He had to get out of there. Even if just for a little bit. He walked to the door of the compartment, opened and left.

As he passed he glanced in at the other carriages. People were laughing, catching up after the summer. He felt even more alone.

….

"Oh Blaise, I haven't seen you in so long!" Pansy cried, clinging onto Blaise's neck. Draco scowled.

"Pans, it's only been two weeks since I last saw you, you silly button!" Blaise said, ruffling her hair.

"But it felt like so long!" Pansy wailed.

"I know… but it's okay now. I get to see you at school. Everyday." Blaise grinned. Draco stood up.

"I'll be back," he said shortly and stalked out of the compartment.

"What's his problem?" Pansy asked.

"No idea."

….

Harry heard him before he saw him. He was staring at his shoes when he heard the compartment door slam.

"Malfoy," he said, coldly. They had to act now.

"Potter," Draco spat.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Yes, numbskull. I do so  _happen_  to go to the same school as you."

"Draco. There's no one around to hear this. Why are we bothering?"

"Someone could come out of a compartment at any time!" Draco motioned frantically at the doors of the compartments around them.

"Fine. Well, I have nothing to say to you, only, stay away from my friends." Harry took a step towards Draco.

"You too, Potter."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Draco reached out and shoved Harry against the wall of the corridor. He pinned him there and leaned heavily against him. People were now beginning to peek out of their compartments. "Take it back, Potter," Draco snarled.

"Take what back?" Harry asked in an equally fierce tone, shoving Draco across the corridor and against the opposite wall.

"What you said about my mother!" Draco wriggled out from between the wall and Harry and got the brunette into a headlock. Harry snarled and shoved him away. He fell over. Harry pinned him to the ground.

"No, I will not!" Harry cried. "And on top of that… your dad is a… pimp!" Draco had to try really hard not to laugh at this. To mask his amusement he flipped Harry over until he was laying on top of him instead of the other way round.

"Take it back, you cheap rent boy!" he cried.

" _What_  did you just call me?"

"A cheap rent boy, what did it sound like lame-o?"

"Well, that, but… I'M NOT A CHEAP RENT BOY! Hell, I'm not even a rent boy at all! Take it back, you prissy little so and so."

"Ouch Potter. That one really hurt," Draco said sarcastically.

"Fine. You're a dirty whore then. Better?"

"You need more creativity." At this Harry snarled and flipped Draco back over.

"I don't need any more creativity. I know  _just_ how to aggravate you," Harry said, smirking.

"Oh yeah?" Draco sneered. "How?"

"By being nice to you."

"Psht. Don't be ridiculous. That wouldn't bother me."

"Oh really?" Harry leaned down and kissed Draco quickly on the lips. The entire corridor gasped. People had come out of their compartments and were watching the proceedings in interest.

"Sorry, Potter," Draco said. "But that doesn't bother me much." He attempted to wriggle out from underneath Harry.

"Oh no you don't, D- dork." Harry said, almost forgetting that Draco had to be called Malfoy and fixing it only by insulting him.

"Did you just call me a dork? You.. FORK!"

"Spork."

"Pork."

"Uh… uh… cork?" Harry hazarded.

"Oh come on, Potter. That was lamer than lame."

"Whatever, Malfoy. I'm still  _on top_."

"Potter… As if you'd be on top in real life… I bet you're the submissive type."

"Psht. No. Not that you'll ever be that lucky, Malfoy."

"Hmm… we'll see…” Draco smirked. Harry tried to convey  _what are you doing?_ with his eyes and failed.

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's a I'm-going-to-bed-you-so-watch-out. If there are things like that…” He frowned.

"You wish, Malfoy."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't!" Harry tried  _what the fuck are you doing you bloody wanker!_  this time and failed again.

"Are you saying that you're attracted to me?"

"Well, you're the hottest person in school apart from yours truly."

"I suppose that's fair, but whatever. I'd still be on top." Harry nodded convincingly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Wait… Did you just say I'm hot?" Harry looked confused.

"God you're slow." Draco sneered.

"Shut up. Did you?"

"Yeah. It's almost a pity I hate you. You have the nicest arse." To prove his point, Draco pinched Harry's butt.

"Ow! Bastard." Harry glared at him. People were still watching with interest. In fact, more had arrived during their bickering. Harry wanted to laugh but wisely refrained.

"You know you liked that, Potter. Or at least…  _I_  know you did." Malfoy smirked, looking pointedly down. A few people laughed. Harry sent Draco a Harry Potter Death GlareTM. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well, since we're mentioning  _that_. I could say the same about you.  _And_  I didn't even have to pinch your butt."

There was a collective  _oooooh_  from the surrounding crowd.

"Okay. That's it, Potter." Draco reached up and pulled Harry down until their faces were inches apart then flipped him over.

"Basta-" Harry was interrupted by Draco kissing him. And it didn't hurt as much this time. In fact it didn't hurt at all.

The whole corridor erupted into talk. Draco pulled away.

"You lost," Harry said.

"Lost what?"

"You're obviously scared of kissing me. You pulled away first."

"Me? Scared? Never."

"Prove it," Harry smirked.

"No."

"I thought you weren't scared!"

"I'm not." More laughter.

"Whatever. I don't want to kiss you either," Harry said.

"Harsh."

"No. Just truthful. Why do you care anyway?"

"I don't." Draco tried to act defiant. He did care. Or at least he would have, had he not known it was all an act.

"Good."

"I'm glad that's settled."

"Yes. Now get the hell off of me. I have better things to be doing with my time than have pointless fights with you." Draco scowled.

"Our fights aren't pointless!" he cried.

"Uh, reality check, Malfoy, but yeah they are. Ok, so I insult your parents and you insult mine, but really… how old are we?"

"You're blatantly a two year old."

"Oh shut up. I just wanted to go to the bathroom… I didn't want this…”

"Fine, I'll let you go this time. But… next time…  _you're going down Potter_." He climbed reluctantly off of Harry and stood up. "Go! There's nothing to look at! Shoo!" he cried to the surrounding crowd. People began talking loudly as they began to make their ways back to their respective carriages.

"What's the betting they'll end up sleeping together before Christmas?" Harry heard someone mutter to the person they were with. He pretended to ignore it, but inside he laughed at the irony. Maybe they should give the school a romance to shame all others. Just to shake things up. Just maybe.


	23. Chapter 23

"Hey, Potter," Draco whispered. Harry gave him a look as if to say  _not here_  and walked down the corridor. Draco nodded to himself and waited a few minutes before walking in the direction Harry had gone. He hadn't seen where the brunette had gone, but was sure Harry would leave him a sign… or  _something_.

Indeed, he began looking carefully at the compartments and the corridor, just in case he was missing something. He didn't see Harry, but felt the hand pull him into an empty compartment.

"What the-?" he began.

"-SHH!" Harry interrupted him. Draco frowned. Where the hell  _was_ Harry?

"Where are you?" he hissed, looking around. He watched as Harry appeared in front of him and pulled him under a piece of cloth. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Well, it depends on what you think it is," Harry replied, smiling.

"An invisibility cloak?"

"Yup."

"Wow." Draco was impressed. Deeply impressed. Harry smiled.

"It was my dad's," he said.

"Cool."

"Now enough of that. That's not the reason you're here," Harry said. Draco frowned, but it was immediately wiped off his face as Harry pressed his lips to his. Draco pulled away.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Doesn't it hurt you?" Draco was confused.

"No. I don't know why, so don’t ask… but hell I'm not going to make the most of it!"

"No complaint-mmmph." Draco was interrupted as Harry pressed their lips together again. He shrugged and began to return the feverish kisses. They were needy kisses, filled with the fervor of yearned for contact. Hands began to roam. Shirts lifted. Hands not occupied with roaming chests began to inch down the backs of trousers. Asses were grabbed. Passion. Want. Lust. Need.

"I want you now," Draco whispered, grabbing Harry by the ass and pulling their hips together.

"What? In this compartment?"

"No one will see."

"But what if someone comes in?"

"Well, then we're fucked. No pun intended." Harry's head was buzzing. Drunk on Draco. On passion. Contact high. 

"Okay," he said. Draco grinned and began to unbuckle Harry's belt.

"This compartment's free," a male voice said from the corridor. Draco stopped undoing Harry's belt. He looked to the door. Seamus was standing there with Lavender Brown.

"But what if someone sees?" she asked.

"That just adds to the excitement then, doesn't it?" The door opened and they walked in. Draco began dragging Harry towards it so they could get away before the door closed. Harry stopped him.

"But…” he started to say. 

"Shh. Doesn't matter." Draco's eyes bulged. "All the more exciting." Harry whispered. Draco frowned but nodded slowly. Exciting, but strange as hell.

Seamus and Lavender began kissing. Harry dragged Draco to the other side of the compartment to them and unbuckled his belt. Draco unfastened his own and soon their hands were roaming again.

Draco had to admit, it was the weirdest sex he had ever had. But then again, this was Harry Potter, things were bound to be weird. They were interrupted only once, by some first years discovering Lavender and Seamus and screaming bloody murder. But they continued as soon as the embarrassed pair left.

"You have some weird kinks, Potter," Draco said as they began getting dressed again. This was difficult as they were still under the cloak, but they were managing somehow.

"Heh, I suppose I do. But then again, everyone does. I mean, look at Seamus and Lavender! They didn't even have an invisibility cloak!"

"Yeah, but they also didn't know they were having sex in the same room as someone else," Draco reasoned.

"Fair enough. I just… wanted to have you while I could. Or at least, while I knew I could. Because, don't know how long this lack of pain will last. Maybe the pain has completely gone, maybe it's just this train. I don't know, but I wanted to make the most of what time I had." Draco smiled and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Our friends will probably be wondering what became of us," Draco said.

"Yeah. We'd best go and find them," Harry agreed.

"See you around, Potter," Draco said and slid out from under the cloak. Harry waited a few minutes before creeping out himself. Not that there was anyone around, it was merely a precaution.

Ron and Hermione were just as he'd left them. Well, almost. They were making out on their side of the compartment, but sprang apart guiltily when Harry entered.

"Oh, don't let me stop you," Harry said idly, sitting down and gazing out of the compartment window.

"Harry! Mate… where'd you go? I mean, after the fight with Malfoy." Ron's blue eyes were curious.

"You saw that?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, mate. Most of the school did."

"Oh."

"Why did you kiss him, Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.

"I dunno," Harry shrugged. "I thought it would rile him. Only… it didn't."

"Yeah, mate. I know. That was a bit odd. What do you reckon Malfoy's playing at? Saying he's going to bed you and all?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Well, he did already seat me," Harry muttered to himself. Ron and Hermione stared.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Nothing." Harry mentally laughed.

"Okay, but, I wonder why he kissed  _you_! Afterwards… That was way out of order." Ron had continued with his thinking aloud.

"Perhaps for the same reason I kissed him," Harry suggested.

"Yeah! Only, mate, you were amazing! You acted like it had no effect on you! Bloody brilliant! We should get him to crack! It obviously does  _secretly_  bother him. You can see he's just acting. 'Cause then he didn't kiss you again, mate." Harry nodded vaguely at Ron. "Yeah, so… if we get him to  _admit_  why he doesn't like kissing you… then… wait…” Ron had confused himself.

"Ron, I think what you meant to say is that he secretly  _does_  want to kiss me, he's just pretending he doesn't want to so as to not seem desperate. You meant to say that he blatantly has a big, gay crush on me and wants me real bad. And that we'd get him to  _crack_  by getting him to admit these feelings."

"Yeah, mate. That's what I meant." Ron nodded, frowning slightly. Hermione rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Boys," she muttered.

"Hermione," Harry said, calmly. "It is not particularly boy-like to try and plot the embarrassment of an arch rival. In fact, it's quite girl-like. All calculating and plotting. Practically bitchy."

"I suppose," she said. "But… that's not what I… Oh never mind." Harry went back to staring out of the window.

"But, we're still going to bring Malfoy down, right?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said, idly.

"Good." And then Ron went back to kissing Hermione.

…..

"Hi," Draco said dully to his two best friends as he entered their compartment.

"Oh! Draco! Hi!" Pansy cried, pulling away from Blaise quickly and pretending as if nothing had happened. Or rather, that nothing had been happening.

"You've kept yourselves occupied I see," Draco observed dryly.

"Uh… yeah.." Pansy said, blushing.

"Where've you been, Drake?" Blaise asked.

"How many times must I ask you to call me Draco. I'm a dragon not a duck, thank you. And I've been… around. Terrorizing the new students, etcetera etcetera."

"Oh, okay, Drake. Nice fight by the way," Blaise replied, completely ignoring the name comment. Draco scowled at that, but let it slide.

"Thanks I guess. I didn't think it was all that great to be honest. There have been better ones," he said.

"Yeah, I s'pose, but… you've never kissed him before! The look on his face… priceless."

"Uh, yeah." Draco didn't remember any particular look.

"He blatantly likes you," Blaise said.

"What?"

"I said he obviously likes you."

"Mmmm."

"We should exploit that."

"Maybe."

"No, really! How  _great_  would it be? The newspapers would have a field day!  _Boy-Who-Lived, Secretly in Love with Death Eater Son._  Classic. His perfect image would be tarnished." Blaise's eyes were shining in excitement. "We  _have_  to do it Drake. We can't let this opportunity slide!"

"Sure," Draco said. He stood up and retrieved a 'picture book' from his trunk. He sat down again and opened it. Blaise looked at Pansy who shrugged.

"Let him be for the moment. Maybe he hasn't plotted much in a while. It might just take some time for him to get back into the swing of things," she said. Blaise nodded, then leaned forward and began kissing her again. Draco scowled at the open pages of his book. Bloody, lovesick people with their bloody open relationships.

Maybe he and Harry should have an open relationship. A gradual one (to the eyes of the public). Give the school something to talk about. Really turn things upside down. Yeah. He made a mental note to himself to talk to Harry about that before actually watching the moving picture.

' _Want that one_ ,' Andy from Little Britain said. Draco laughed. This would keep him occupied until they arrived. He wasn't worried about being antisocial. Pansy and Blaise looked plenty occupied.


	24. Chapter 24

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station with panache. Smoke billowed from the chimney of the big red engine. First Years scrambled to get close to the doors. Older students were more apathetic and sat in their carriages until the last possible moment. A few were so idle they were still changing into their school robes.

Through the excited chattering of students, Harry could hear Hagrid's familiar voice calling to the new students. He sighed. His time as a First Year seemed so long ago.. He got off the train with Ron and Hermione and they made their way over to the Thestral drawn carriages.

….

Draco scowled at the First Years as they pushed past him in their eagerness. Bloody little upstarts. They'd learn soon enough. They would know that he was the most important person in this school, other than the teachers of course. And if they didn't learn fast enough… well… there would be consequences.  _Then_  they would know. He scowled some more for good measure, then followed Blaise and Pansy off of the train and towards the carriages.

….

"Aw, no! Not you three! Get out of our carriage!" Ron cried.

"That's a bit harsh Weasley," Draco said.

"Not for you it isn't," Ron retorted. "Go get your own carriage!"

"For your information, Weasley," Pansy said. "This is the only carriage left."

"Oh." That shut Ron up. "Well in that case… er… stay…” Blaise and Hermione both rolled their eyes. Harry noticed this, but said nothing.

"So, Malfoy, how's your mum?" Harry asked lazily.

"Don't you say anything about my mum!" Draco yelled.

"I wasn't. I was asking how she was."

"Oh." Hermione and Blaise both rolled their eyes again. "Well… she's fine. Thanks for asking," Draco said quickly. Harry nodded. "Why do you want to know?" Draco asked, putting a suspicious tone in his voice.

"Oh, I didn't really. It was just the first conversation topic that walked into my head."

"Oh. Why didn't you just insult me?"

" _Because_  I didn't feel like having an argument, you mental defective."

"One point to Harry," Ron said.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, angrily.

"I mean, Harry's one up on this argument."

"But this isn't an argument Ron!" Harry cried.

"Well, you're still one up on the conversation score at any rate, mate."

"Well, it won't stay that way for long. I'm much more proficient in the art of rhetoric," Draco said, striking a gallant pose. Hand over heart, nose in air, eyes closed. Wot wot.

"The art of what now?"

"Rhetoric, you imbecile. Merlin, I'm surprised you passed your O.W.L.s!"

"Well the O.W.L.s don't have a grammar section. Or a section where you need to know long useless words," Ron snapped, folding his arms defiantly across his chest and scowling.

"Ron," said Hermione gently. "It's not grammar. And it's neither long nor useless. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion through speech."

"Oh." Hermione and Blaise both rolled their eyes again. This time they both noticed each other and grinned slightly.

"We're here," Harry said dully. Ron bolted out of the carriage as fast as possible. Pansy followed. Blaise and Hermione were next. He stood back and let her go first. Quite the gentleman. Harry and Draco were left to exit last. Harry leaned over and kissed Draco quickly.

"Ow," he said, his heart sinking.

"It hurts again?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck."

"Precisely. Now go join your friends."

"Likewise."

Harry stood up and hurried out of the carriage.

"What took you so long, mate?" Ron asked.

"What do you mean, what took me so long?"

"Nothing, I just thought-"

"-You got out first. Of course it seemed long." Comprehension dawned in Ron's eyes. "Well, that and I had to fight Malfoy as to who got out of the carriage first."

"Ha ha, right on mate!" And normality was restored. At least, relative normality.

…

"Granger was looking quite fine tonight," Blaise remarked as he, Pansy and Draco walked up to the castle.

"Blaise! You're not supposed to say that! You're going out with  _me_!" Pansy cried.

"Well, it's not like we're engaged," he snapped.

"She’s… she's an evil whore of doom!" Pansy cried. "Corrupting your mind! Stealing you away from me! Even though she's going out with the Weasel!" Pansy was getting herself into hysterics.

"Pansy, do you  _honestly_  believe all that?" Draco asked mildly.

"Well… no… I mean… she's not an evil whore of doom… but… she's stealing Blaise away from me!"

"No she's not, you ninny," Blaise said. "You're still nice."

"NICE! NICE! IS THAT ALL I AM TO YOU!" Pansy yelled. People were beginning to stare.

"No… You're… a good lay…” That was the wrong thing to say. "Quite pretty… good friend…” Blaise could tell he was getting nowhere with this. He'd fucked up bad this time.

"Quit while you're behind," Draco whispered.

"Fuck."

"Yeah." Pansy exploded on the stairs of the castle. Metaphorically that is. She screamed to the world about how Blaise was a heartless bastard and how she couldn't believe he was leaving her. Then she collapsed and started crying. Blaise got up his resolve and walked over to her.

"Pansy," he implored. "I didn't mean it. It was a sarcastic comment. I didn't think it would wind you up this much!" Pansy stopped screaming.

"What… was… that?" she asked, hiccuping.

"I didn't mean any of the things I said. Well, I meant the nice ones, obviously. But you're hotter than Granger. Obviously." He wasn't completely sure on this, but continued on anyway. "I don't want things to end like this – or at all," he added quickly. Pansy sniffed and wiped away some of the tears. Her mascara smudged at the same time, but she didn't notice. He pretended not to notice either.

"Re-really?" she asked, her eyes still bright with tears.

"Yes. Button." She smiled at her nickname. "Now come along. It's time for the start of term feast." He held out a hand which she took and he helped her up. Then he took out his wand and surreptitiously cleaned up her face.

…

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched all of this from a distance. They didn't know what the fight was about, but they could tell Blaise kept saying the wrong thing. Ron was all for going over and urging on the argument. However Harry was adamant that they stay away.

"But why, mate?" Ron asked.

"Because, it's not our business."

"So?"

"So we shouldn't get involved."

"But it's all about kicking them while they're down."

"No Ron!" Harry said firmly. Hermione said nothing. She was still watching the argument.

"But Harry!" Ron whined. "Invader's blood marches through my veins like GIANT RADIOACTIVE RUBBER PANTS! And the pants command me! DO NOT IGNORE MY VEINS!" (A/N  _This is from Invader Zim apparently. It was in a review someone gave me and I liked it. So there we go.)_  he cried.

"I said no," Harry said quietly. Ron frowned and crossed his arms. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go to the feast."

…..

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore looked just the same as ever. Long white beard, half moon glasses, twinkle in the eye. "Due to lack of organization over the summer, no prefects were sent letters telling them they were prefects. This includes Head Boy and Girl. So, instead, we shall have a presentation of badges after the Sorting of the First Years." Chatter broke out among the students. No wonder everyone had been so rowdy on the train! "QUIET! For the sorting." Silence fell.

The First Years processed in. Harry could have sworn he wasn't that small when he was a First Year. Maybe this bunch were just particularly small. They all looked terrified. He could remember being that. Just not small. They stopped when they reached the teacher's table. They stood together in a tight knit group, all terrified of what was to come. Professor McGonnagal put the Sorting Hat down on its three legged stool and stood back. Presently the hat began to sing,

" _Oh I'm the sorting hat of legends old,_

_People come to me to have their houses told._

_Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw,_

_All are noble houses, but not all fit for all._

_Gryffindor are the bravest, and chivalrous to boot,_

_Hufflepuff are gentle and frown on most dispute,_

_Ravenclaw the brainy bunch work harder than the rest,_

_While Slytherin are adamant that they are truly best._

_Each house has it greatness, and each house its faults._

_In these houses we must duly learn to waltz_

_And tread our ways carefully lest we start dispute,_

_For united we are better, this point is not moot._

Sorry if the rhyme is short this year. I've been preoccupied with other things. And I'm running out of ideas." Everyone laughed, even some of the First Years tittered appreciatively.

"Silence!" cried Professor McGonnagal and the students settled down once more. "Adams, William!" A small, freckled boy with brown hair disentangled himself from the others and walked tentatively forward. He sat down on the three legged stool and Professor McGonnagalplaced the hat on his head.

"Hufflepuff!" cried the hat after several moments. Everyone clapped as William walked over to the Hufflepuff table. The sorting continued smoothly with Braithwaite, Clarissa being the first Gryffindor, Brown, Selena being the first Slytherin and Caldwell, Brian being the first Ravenclaw. None of the older students really cared at this point. They were all itching to know who would be Head Boy and Girl. Not to mention the Prefects.

Finally, after Zare, Timothy was sorted into Gryffindor (whoo!), Dumbledore stood again. The whole hall rustled in anticipation before settling down.

"So, the moment you have all been waiting for!" Dumbledore cried, spreading his arms wide. "The announcement of Prefects! When I call out your name, please come up and get your badge." The hall rustled again.

"The Senior Prefects for this year are: Terry Boot, Seamus Finnegan, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hannah Abbot and Pansy Parkinson." The hall erupted into cheers. Ron scowled.

"Why am I not a prefect again?" he cried, outraged. "And how come 'Mione isn't one?" Harry shrugged and stood up to go and collect his badge. He was quite surprised to be honest. He wasn't the best student, nor the best behaved person, but hey. Now he got to use the Prefects Bathroom, so he wasn't complaining. And Draco could too!

People were still clapping as he finally reached the Teacher's Table. Dumbledore handed him his badge and many people cheered. Honestly. It wasn't  _that_  exciting. No one cheered for Draco apart from the Slytherin Table. But that was to be expected. The new prefects returned to their tables and Dumbledore called for silence again.

"The Second String prefects this year are: Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey….." The rest was lost to Harry as they were in the year below and in different houses. Ron looked even more annoyed. He muttered something about his sister and slumped against the table. Harry patted him awkwardly on the back. The Second String prefects sat back down and Dumbledore called again for silence.

"And now!" he cried. "The announcement of Head Boy and Girl!" The hall didn't rustle this time. Everyone was holding their breaths in anticipation. (Everyone but one small First Year who dropped his goblet loudly, but he was a First Year and didn't count.) "The Head Boy and Girl must, from this year, share a room. This is due to a new subject and thus teacher, but more about that later. This year's Head Boy is…” Dumbledore paused, his eyes sparkling, fully aware that everyone was hanging on his every word. "Blaise Zabini!"

The Slytherin Table exploded into cheers and clapping.

"Good on you Blaise!"

"That's right! Slytherin!"

"Whoo Zabini!"

Blaise looked shocked. He was sitting, staring at the table in utter disbelief. Pansy was smirking at everyone as if to say  _that's right MY boyfriend_. Draco pulled his friend up by the arm.

"Go on," he said. "Go get your badge." Blaise nodded and walked numbly up to the Teacher's Table. The whole hall erupted into cheers. After the initial shock of finding out that their Head Boy was a Slytherin, they seemed to decide that he was actually a decent Slytherin.

"Stay here, Blaise," Dumbledore said, handing Blaise his badge. Blaise nodded and stood next to Dumbledore. Dumbledore cleared his throat. The hall settled down again.

"The Head Girl for this year is Hermione Granger!" The Gryffindor table cheered. As did the rest of the hall. Hermione looked pleased, but embarrassed. She was blushing, but smiling.

"Oh! Wait till my parents hear about this!" she cried before standing up and walking down the hall with a definite spring to her step. The whole hall was cheering, even some of the Slytherins, because, let's face it, she  _was_  the best candidate. It was hardly a surprise.

"Oh fuck," said Ron. Harry looked at him.

"What?"

"She gets to share a  _room_  with that git."

"Oh."

"She won't want me anymore."

"Don't say that."

"No seriously Harry. I saw them exchanging glances earlier. They work so well together. We don't. We fight all the time. And as much as I care about her, I'd rather end it on my terms now, than on her terms in a few months time because she's fallen for him instead."

"Okay Ron," Harry said, putting his hands up in defeat. "It's your life." Ron nodded and slumped back onto the table.

….

"NOOOOO!" squealed Pansy. "He'll leave me! For that evil whore of dooooooooooom!"

"There, there, Pansy. I'm sure that's not true," Draco said, even though he didn't believe it.

"Yes it is. He likes her. And, damn it, they work well together. Did you  _see_  the looks they were exchanging in the carriage!"

"Uh, no."

"Oh yeah, you were  _fighting_  again."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well, don't you two ever give it a rest?"

"No. I have a reputation to uphold."

"So that's why you  _kissed_  him?"

"Er… yes?"

"You like him don't you?"

"No!"

"Okay.. but just so you know.. the odds are 2:1 on you two sleeping together before Christmas. 4:1 on him rejecting you. 6:1 on you rejecting him. And 9:1 on nothing happening at all."

"Oh."

"So… what should I bet on?" Draco paled.

"Not sure… the last one?" Draco said. Pansy said nothing but gave him a look to say that she didn't believe him. She muttered something which sounded strangely like  _denial_.He decided to change the subject. “So what are you going to do about Blaise?"

"Break up I guess. Or lose major face when it inevitably happens in a few weeks time." She stared hard at the table.

"Aw, Pans, it will be alright," Draco said. "I'm here for you." He reached out and hugged her.

"Thanks Draco."

"Anytime dear."

"And now!" Dumbledore cried. "It's time for bed! Prefects show the First Years where to go!"

"Come along Pans, we've got to show the midgets where to go," Draco said. She smiled and wiped away tears that were threatening to fall. She nodded.

"First years follow me!" she called.


	25. Chapter 25

"What I don't get, Har," said Seamus as he bounded up the stairs beside Harry. "Is why Gryffindor is the only house to have two  _boys_  as prefects, while every other house has a boy and a girl." He and Harry were leading the First Years to Gryffindor Tower.

"Well, it's obviously because you're so girly Seamus," Harry replied.

"Touché. Harry I'll have you know that I'm bi. Therefore  _you_  are the girl."

"Psht. Whatever. At least I don't  _skip_  as often as you do."

"Humph."

"Awe, Shame, you know I don't mean it."

"Yeah, I know." Seamus smiled.

"So who are you doing now then?"

"Well, I was with Lavender Brown. But the sex is a bit… wack. So I might try Terry Boot next. Was he any good when you went out with him?"

"He wasn't bad. Be gentle though."

"Hmmm.. Maybe not then," Seamus said and Harry laughed.

"I might see about Draco Malfoy… Again."

"He's taken," Harry said without thinking.

"He's what now?"  _Fuck._

"Uh… straight?"

"Nah. I've had him before."  _Damn, forgot about that._

"Well, he's seeing someone."

"How do you know?"

"Uh… I'm Harry Potter and I know all?"

"Yeah, right. You're seeing him aren't you. Secretly?"

"No." Harry glanced meaningfully at the First Years who were listening to this conversation with wide eyes.

" _Oh_. Right. Got you. Of course you're not." Seamus said then mouthed  _we need to talk_. Harry smiled and nodded. They reached the Gryffindor common room shortly only to realize that they didn't know the password.

"Damn. I knew there was something we forgot to do!" Seamus cried.

"What's that dear?" asked the Fat Lady.

"We forgot to get the password," Seamus said, hanging his head.

"We have a generic password for the start of term. All the houses do. They'll be changed tomorrow."

"So everyone's password is the same right now?"

"Yes."

"Well that's silly!" Seamus exclaimed.

"Don't blame me! I didn't make up the rules!" The Fat Lady looked rather affronted. Harry decided it was time to intervene.

"Well, what is the generic password?" he asked. Harry sighed. He was a little tired of passwords about him. 

"Harry Potter is cool." Harry blushed crimson.

"It can't be that!" he protested.

"Sorry dear, but it is."

"Harry Potter is cool!" Seamus cried and the portrait hole swung open. Harry scowled and followed him through the hole. The first years followed, looks of awe were etched on their faces.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Tower!" Harry said. "The dorms are up the stairs. Girls on the right, boys on the left." He pointed to the two staircases. The First Years nodded. "This is where we all hang out. We work here, play games here and occasionally have house parties here. Don't make too much noise when other people are working, or they might get angry at you." The First Years nodded again. "Your belongings should already be in your room."

"Yeah, what Harry said," Seamus agreed. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed! Goodnight!" Seamus bounded over to the stairs, up them and out of sight. Harry bade the First Years goodnight, advised them not to stay up too late and followed Seamus up the stairs to the room they had been in since their first year. Seamus pounced on him as soon as he entered.

"Tell me everything Harry."

"But!" Harry protested.

"No buts, you know I won't tell. So  _tell me_."

"Uh. I stayed at Malfoy's house for a bit of the summer, because I had to pretend to be his boyfriend. And… it was… interesting. And well… we kind of ended up liking each other." Harry blushed.

"That's really cute! I like that. I approve," Seamus said, grinning. Harry smiled.

"But don't tell anyone…”

"As if I would, Har. You know you can talk to me about anything right?"

"Yeah, Shame, I know."

"C'mere. Give me a hug," Seamus said, spreading his arms wide. Harry gladly accepted. Then Ron walked in.

"You two lovers again?" he asked.

"No." Harry and Seamus said simultaneously.

"Oh. Fair enough. Just, Harry mate, don't go out with any of the Slytherins. They've already stolen Hermione."

"Ron, you don't know that."

"Doesn't matter. We broke up anyway." He walked over to his bed and slumped onto it.

"Ron, my young padowan," Seamus said, walking over to Ron's bed, sitting down beside him and putting his arm around him. "Just because you two broke up, doesn't mean that she's gone to the Dark Side."

"She's sharing a room with Zabini."

"So?"

"So they'll obviously end up together."

"If you say so." Seamus rolled his eyes in Harry's direction. Harry shrugged. Ron nodded.

"I do. But it's better that way. She'll be happy. All I want is for her to be happy."

…

Walking to the Common Room was much the same for the Slytherin Prefects as the Gryffindors. They too encountered the problem of  _not knowing the bloody password_. They also laughed at the generic password. (Well, who wouldn't?) Draco wanted to say Harry Potter is bloody sexy instead of cool, but didn't think it would be a great idea if people didn't think it was a joke.

"Right minions," Draco said as soon as all the First Years had assembled. "This is the common room. Your dorms are that a way." He waved his hand in the direction of the dorm. "I am Draco Malfoy. And am  _cooler_  that Harry Bloody Potter. You may call me Sir. Or Malfoy."

"Or Draco," Pansy interceded.

"Um. Sure, fine, whatever." Draco scowled and folded his arms. "Yeah. So. Be good little Slytherins and don't talk to the Gryffindorks. They're not cool. You are. That is all. Questions go to Pansy. I need my beauty sleep." He attempted to hurry away but Pansy grabbed the back of his cloak. "Bugger."

"I need to talk to you."

"Fine. But no questions to me!" he said, slumping down on the nearest sofa. So of course all the First Years crowded around him with questions. He ignored them and they eventually defected to Pansy who was laughing at his expression.

Eventually the First Years dissipated and Pansy dragged Draco over to a far corner of the room.

"I have to break up with him," she said.

"You dragged me all the way over here to tell me that?"

"Um. Yes?"

"You should have broken up with him and  _then_  dragged me over here."

"Okay fine. I'll go break up with him. STAY HERE!" He scowled but nodded to say that he would. She walked out of the common room. He would be there to be a shoulder for her to cry on.

….

Hermione and Blaise stared at their new room. It was so nice! There was a small common room with two desks and two large comfy chairs, and two bedrooms leading off of the common room, each with a four poster bed. There was also a fireplace in the common room and two doors on either side of the room that led to the bathrooms. And the bathrooms! Well, they were something else! Tubs sunk into the floor, beautifully tiled in shiny black tile. They were both in awe.

"This is so cool!" he said. "A bit like our password." They too had be subject to the generic password.

"Yeah I know! What should we change our password to?" she asked. Since it was their room, they we able to chose the password they wanted.

"I don't know… how about… vade retro santana? It means get behind me Satan in Latin."

"Uh, sure. Sounds good to me!"

"Cool."

"Yeah." This was followed by a rather awkward silence as both struggled to find something to say. Hermione dragged her feet self consciously along the floor.

"So, uh, which room do you want?" Blaise said finally.

"What? Oh, I don't mind. Whichever one you don't want."

"Right. Uh," Blaise mumbled. At this point however, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it." He hurried to the door. Pansy was standing there. "Uh, I'll be right back!" he said to Hermione and walked out into the corridor with Pansy.

"Hi," he said. "What's up?"

"We need to break up."

"What! Why!"

"Because it's obvious you like that Granger girl. And I'd rather end it now than be hurt more later," Pansy said and she meant it. She didn't want to be hurt more than she already would be.

"Yeah, I like her like a friend Pans, but I like you more!”

"But you're going to be spending so much time together… you'll get to know her better, and like her more… As much as I don't like her, she is a nice person. Please Blaise, it's better for the both of us this way. It will be easier to get over you now than it would be to get over you a few months from now."

"But…” he mumbled.

"Shut up! I'm breaking up with you! You can't do anything about it!"

"But…”

"I hope we can still be friends."

"Well, yes of course…” he stuttered. "But…”

"Goodbye Blaise. See you around." And with that she walked off leaving him standing there, staring after her, dumbstruck.

…

Pansy was crying when she entered the common room. Draco ran over to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"What does it look like?" she spat.

"Aw, come here." He put his arm around her and walked her to the corner where they were before. She sat down heavily and he sat beside her, putting his arms around her.

"Shh, there, there. It will be okay. I'm here for you," Draco whispered, holding her close as she cried on his shoulder. "I'm always here for you."

"Thank you," she said, still sobbing.

"Shh." He held her close until her tears subsided and she fell asleep on his shoulder. Then he didn't know quite what to do with her, so he carried her up the stairs to his own bed and bewitched the curtains closed around her. Then he curled up in an armchair next to the bed and fell asleep himself.

…

Blaise stood where Pansy had left him. In shock. He knew he should pull himself together and go back inside his new room, but he couldn't bring himself to move. Instead he sank to the floor and just sat there.

Hermione eventually poked her head out to see what had become of her new roommate and found him there. He was staring at the opposite wall, unmoving.

"Blaise," she said softly, hurrying over to him and crouching down too. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"She… she broke up with me."

"Oh," she breathed. She sat down. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ron broke up with me."

"It does a bit. I guess we're both in the same boat now." He looked up. She was staring at him with concern. Pansy was right. She was a nice person. Maybe something would happen here. Blaise sighed. What would be would be.

"Come along," she said. "You can't sit out here all night. Sleep on it. Things always seem better in the morning." He nodded and allowed her to pull him up and lead him into their room.

…..

"Ron?" Harry asked. The redhead didn't look up. He was sitting in an armchair in the common room.

"What?" he said, noncommittally.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm bloody fine."

"You should come up to bed."

"Nah. I'm okay down here, mate."

"Ron! Stop being ridiculous. Come to bed. It will be better in the morning."

"Eff off."

"Fine. Stay here." Harry turned and hurried back up to the dormitory. Ron sighed and slumped further in his chair. He just wanted to be alone.

Up in the dormitory, Harry shrugged at Seamus's enquiry about Ron. There was nothing he could really say.

"He'll get over it, Har. Don't worry." Harry smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight Seamus."

"G'night, Har."

…

"So… uh… which room do you want?" Hermione asked.

"Doesn't matter." Blaise's voice was dull.

"Oh. Right. Uh. Have this one then." She motioned to the right hand door.

"Thanks." There was a long awkward silence where Hermione fiddled with things on her desk. "Um. I'm going to go get ready for bed."

"Okay. I should do the same I s'pose." She smiled and hurried into her bathroom. He turned and trudged into his. They both emerged a few minutes later in pajamas and ready to go to sleep.

"Well, goodnight!" she said.

"Night."

"Oh Blaise. It will be alright."

"Yeah. It will. It just isn't alright right now." She frowned.

"Come here," she said kindly.

"What?"

"Come here, you look like you need a hug." He smiled and walked towards her. She reached out her arms and he fell gratefully into them. "There, there. It's okay. Everything will be alright." He nodded and pulled away.

"Thanks," he said.

"It's alright."

"You didn't have to you know."

"But… you looked like you needed it," she protested. He smiled.

"But you hardly know me!"

"So? I'll get to know you in time. You must be a decent guy if you're Head Boy!" He laughed at that. "You seem nice at any rate," she said.

"You do too." She smiled. "Especially for a Gryffindork," he added. She laughed and threw a mock glare at him. "No seriously. What I mean, is thank you for being so nice despite me being a Slytherin."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you guys hate us. We hate you."

"So? Do I have to follow the norm?"

"Fair enough."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter."

"No. I don't think houses will matter much soon anyway," he said.

"Mmmyeah," she said, yawning.

"You're tired. We should get to bed." She smiled and nodded. "Goodnight Hermione."

"Goodnight Blaise, and don't worry. Things will be better in the morning. They usually are." He smiled and shuffled into his room. She watched as he closed his door and then walked over to her own room. After clambering into bed, she turned the lights out with her wand and soon the Head Boy and Girl were both sound asleep.

…

Elsewhere in the castle most students were in bed. Harry and the other Gryffindor boys were all dreaming happy dreams in Gryffindor tower. Pansy was still asleep in Draco's bed, blissfully thought free. Only Draco and Ron were not in their beds. Draco was asleep in the armchair beside his bed. Ron however was still awake, staring into the fire, watching as it slowly turned to embers. He finally went to bed around three in the morning only to stare at the canopy of his four poster, exhausted but unable to sleep…


	26. Chapter 26

The Great Hall was buzzing with chatter when Harry entered it the next morning. Whispers all around. They stopped when they saw him. Everyone stared. Harry frowned and hurried to the Gryffindor table. At once the students began talking again. Harry heard a snatch of a conversation from the Ravenclaw table behind him.

“…are secret lovers,"

"Yeah, that's what I heard.."

"Over the summer…”

Harry dropped his fork. Was that what he thought it was?

"But  _why_? Why did…” The conversation stopped when Draco entered the hall. A feeling of dread filled Harry. Did they know? Were they really talking about him and Draco? How could they even know?

"Harry!" Colin Creevey tapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned. "Is it true? Is it? Really? Are you  _really_  going out wit Draco Malfoy?" A lead ball fell into Harry's stomach.

"What do you mean Colin?" Harry asked.

"The whole school is talking about it Harry! Vincent Crabbe said he saw you two over the summer!" That goddamn Slytherin was going to die.

"Uh, Colin, I have to, uh, go to the bathroom," Harry said.

"But Harry! You didn't tell me if it was true or not!" Colin cried. Harry ignored him and walked out of the hall. He needed to talk to Draco. But there was no way he would be able to without anyone noticing. He slumped down against the wall outside the Great Hall, to the right of the doors, and buried his head in his arms. Why did he have to be famous?

…..

Draco heard the rumor too. Daphne Greengrass was the one to ask him about his relationship with Harry. He pretended not to hear her, all the while plotting to get revenge on the oaf Crabbe. He and Harry would have to discuss what to do. Either they could say, yes, they  _were_  having a relationship so fuck off, or no they weren't, but there was a reason for Crabbe’s story.

That  _boy_  was going down.

…..

Blaise and Hermione walked down to breakfast together, pleasantly discussing the fine art of Arithmancy. They had been in that class together for years, but had never really spoken. As it turned out they both shared a passion for the subject. Hermione was so into the conversation that she almost didn't notice Harry sitting against the wall. However, Blaise, who was naturally a very observant boy, nudged her and pointed.

Immediately Hermione hurried over to him. Blaise stood to wait for her, but she motioned for him to go to breakfast. He shrugged and ambled into the Great Hall. Hermione knelt down next to Harry. Harry raised his head and looked at her. He was frowning.

"What's wrong Harry?" she asked, trying to keep the faint note of hysteria out of her voice.

"Nothing, just tired. And well, there's a rumor about me. Started by Crabbe. And I don't know what to do about it. But don't worry about me, 'Mione. I'll be fine. Go have breakfast."

She frowned, but nodded and stood up. She took one last look at him, small and alone, before entering the hall. She soon found out what the rumor was..

…..

"Hey Harry!" Seamus had come to check on him. "Stop sulking mate. It will get sorted out."

"Mmmyeah."

"Oh come on, Har. Tell you what. Tonight we can watch a very exciting, student made film. It's called Snape's on a Plane. It's very funny. It's a spoof of that Muggle Movie Snakes on a Plane. So Snape tries to kill everyone instead of the Snakes… How about it Har?"

"Uh, sure Shame. Why not?"

"Now get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself." Seamus held out his hand and helped Harry to his feet. "And come back to breakfast. You need to get your schedule. Plus, I think Dumbledore wants to make an announcement."

Harry shrugged and followed Seamus into the hall again, ignoring the stares he received. Professor McGonagall hurried over and handed Harry his timetable, muttering under her breath about late students.

"Ahem," the hall fell silent as Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat. "To start the term off gaily, we shall be holding a small light-hearted competition." Chatter broke out among the students. "QUIET! Yes, as I was saying, a competition. There will be several categories for this competition. These include: Best Looking Male, Best Looking Female, Most Likely to Be Picked for Major League Quidditch, etc. etc. The lists will go up on the house notice boards this afternoon so that you can start thinking about who you want to vote for. Sadly you can only vote for the top two years because they're the people that most people in the school know. Sorry younger years.

"Anyhow, later in the week your teachers will hand out your voting sheets with the categories on them. All you have to do is fill them out and hand them in. However you do not hand them in to your teachers, hand them in to the Sorting Hat who will tally all the votes. The Sorting Hat will reside in the Great Hall until next Friday when the competition ends.

"Also lessons today are cancelled due to the fact that a member of the faculty is not here yet and we could not get a replacement. We could have just had the DADA lessons cancelled, but, we thought we'd give you a treat. That is all."

The students immediately broke out into chatter again.

"Wow Har! A competition! How exciting!" Seamus cried. Harry rolled his eyes. "You have to win  _something_. Or else… it will be… blasphemy! Almost…” Harry laughed but gave Seamus a look as if to say  _NO_. "That's it! I know what we can do to secure you at least one win!"

"Uh oh. What are you going to do Seamus?" Harry asked, sternly.

"I'm not telling you!" And with that Seamus ran out of the Great Hall laughing. Harry sighed and shook his head. Seamus was as uncontrollable as ever. Being made a prefect didn't seem to phase him at all.

…

Draco scowled at everyone around him. This was NOT a good day. Stupid rumor. Stupid contest. Crabbe was going down. And Dumbledore… well… that man was a bit cracked. Only he could get away with this.

He had to talk to Harry about what they were going to do about this rumor. Would they come out? Still keep it a secret? He sighed. He couldn't just go to the Gryffindor table and  _talk_  to him. That would be  _way_  too obvious. Draco Malfoy was a man of  _subtlety_. So instead he took some parchment out of his bag, scribbled ‘ _Room of Requirement 10:30. Be there_.’ and put it in his pocket to  _subtly_ give it to Harry later.

Draco did in fact manage this feat of subtlety when he casually walked past Harry as they passed on the way out of the Great Hall.

…

Harry glanced down at the note Draco had slipped into his hand. ‘ _Room of Requirement 10:30. Be there_.’ He assumed this was to talk about the rumor. And perhaps the competition! Harry liked the idea. It was a nice way to start off the term. He was eager to find out what the categories were. He was not however looking forward to seeing why Seamus had run off at breakfast. Seamus wanted Harry to win. And Seamus wanting something usually spelled trouble.

Sure enough, when he entered the common room Seamus bounded down the stairs wearing a  _Vote for Potter_  shirt.

"Do you like it, Har?" Seamus asked. "I got the idea from a Muggle Movie. Their shirts said  _Vote for Pedro_  though. So I changed it." He grinned happily. Harry had to admit, they were actually quite cool. "I thought you'd approve." Harry smiled.

"Anyhow, I have to go to the Library," he said, glancing at his watch.

"But Har, we've just gotten back. And there are no lessons!" Seamus protested.

"Draco," Harry mouthed.

"Oh! Right! Got you. Have fun!" Seamus bounded away to show some more people his shirt.

….

Draco was on time to the Room of Requirement. Harry, of course, was late.

"You're late," Draco said as Harry entered.

"Whatever."

"We need to discuss this rumor and what we're going to do about it," Draco said.

"I agree."

"We have two options: Deny it, or come out."

"I think we should deny it."

"What?" Draco was confused. Wouldn't it just be easier to say that it was true?

"And I have a reason. Because if we tell the school our relationship was a ploy for your dad, they'll leave it be and won't bother us if we want to meet up. They'll think it's still all for show." Harry looked pleased with himself.

"No they won't." Harry frowned.

"Okay, so we won't  _kiss_  or anything. But we can say we became friends, then we can at least  _talk_  to each other. And then we explain the fake fight on the train and stuff. It will work. Trust me."

"Okay, but what if this gets back to my dad?" Draco asked.

"Damn. Well, the way I see it, the only way this will is through Crabbe, right? So we can silence him. Leave that to me." An unusual glint came into Harry's eyes. Draco shivered.

"Okay, and what about the Dark Mark? What if that comes out too?"

"Just leave it to me. I have a plan."

"Is it better than the one that got me it?" Harry flushed in shame.

"Yeah."

"Good." Harry leaned in and kissed Draco, but pulled away quickly.

"My scar," he said, by way of explanation. 

"It's okay. We'll get it sorted out soon." Harry smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. Harry's scar was really beginning to annoy him. He didn't know what brought on the pain. It would come suddenly. Sometimes he could touch Draco, sometimes he couldn't. He sighed. He made a mental note to ask Hermione about it tomorrow. "Anyhow, I should get back."

"Yeah, me too."

They said their goodbyes and hurried back to their respective common rooms, Harry to Gryffindor Tower and Draco to the Slytherin Dungeon.

….

The list was up when Harry arrived back at the Tower. It hung on the notice board and a large gaggle of students was crowded around it. Harry ambled over to it and looked over tops of the small peoples' heads.

Best Looking Male

Best Looking Female

Cutest Couple

Coolest Prefect

Best Fashion Sense

Smartest Person

Funniest Person

Most Studious

Best Dancer

Most Artistically Gifted

Most Likely to Be Picked for Major League Quidditch

Most Likely to Succeed

Most Inspirational

Most Eager

Most Mischievous

Most Likely to Entertain

Most Likely to Be Minister For Magic

Most Likely to Have a Mental Breakdown

Most Metrosexual

Gayest Boy

Funniest Drunk

Funniest Dancer

Most Likely to Start a Band

Most Likely to be Found Procrastinating

Most Likely to be a Model

Most Likely to Be Famous

Most Likely to Be a Philosophical Genius

Most Likely to Discover New Things

Sexiest Boy

Sexiest Girl

Most Likely to Own a Town

Most "Gangsta"

Most "Street"

Most Adorable Boy

Most Adorable Girl

Most Likely to End Up With Lots of Kids

Most Likely Become a Muggle Superstar

Person You Would Most Like to Put in a Box and Keep as a Pet

Person You Would Most Like to Hug

Most Likely to Die in a Highly Exciting Way

Most Likely to End Up Working in the Ministry at a Boring Desk Job

Most Likely to Bring Sexy Back

Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi Just Because (and to those wizards who don't know of Bon Jovi.. SHAME on you. Shame..)

Most Likely to Be the Next David Attenborough (That muggle bloke who makes TV shows about animals and nature)

Most Likely to Accidentally Hassel the Hoff (Note to wizards: You DON'T Hassel the Hoff, David Hasselhoff for those fools who don't know)

Harry laughed at a few of them and started thinking about who he should vote for. All the small people in front of him were debating anxiously already.

"Well, Harry's  _obviously_ going to die in a highly exciting way… I mean… He's Harry Potter!" one of them said shrilly to his friend.

"I sure hope I don't," Harry said. The First Year in question turned around and squeaked. Harry winked. "It's okay." The First Year smiled half heartedly and hurried away, followed by its friends. Harry grinned and began copying down the categories on a sheet of paper.

…..

Meanwhile Ron was sitting alone in the dorm room with the curtains of his four poster bed drawn. He was planning to sleep and make up for some of the sleep he didn't have during the night. He lay down and stared at the curtain. Hermione's face swum before his eyes, but then vanished only to be replaced by glimpses of the faces of other girls. He sighed and closed them. He soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

…

Hermione stared at the notice board on the wall of hers and Blaise's room. What was Dumbledore  _on_? The list was insane! It started out okay, but then… the end…  _Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi Just Because_? What was this madness? She sighed. Blaise thought it was rather funny. She did too, she just thought some of it was a bit odd for the Headmaster to have thought up. Especially the David Hasselhoff one!

"Who are you going to vote for?" Blaise asked.

"For which category? There are loads!"

"I dunno. Most Likely to be Found Procrastinating.."

"Ron," Hermione answered at once. Blaise grinned. "What about you?" she asked.

"Yeah, Ron sounds good." Hermione laughed. This competition was going to be amusing. She thought it was a good idea overall. It would bring up the school spirit and sense of community.

"Hey," Blaise said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts about the competition. "What do you think of this Harry and Draco rumor?"

"Hmm. I don't know what to think of it. It's so unlike Harry, but then, Harry is rather unpredictable.. He seems upset by the rumor though. That's why he was sitting outside the hall earlier today."

"Figures. Draco was  _furious_. Crabbe better watch himself."

"Mm, silly boy."

"He should probably win:  _Most Likely to Die in a Highly Exciting Way_ : At the hands of Draco Malfoy," Blaise joked. Hermione laughed.

"Maybe," she said. "And maybe you should win  _Person You Would Most Like to Put in a Box and Keep as a Pet_."

"You want to put me in a box and keep me as a pet?" Blaise asked, slightly outraged.

"Yes!" Hermione laughed. Blaise scowled and stuck his tongue out at her. Hermione smiled. "Aww, you're so adorable when you're angry!" Blaise threw a pillow at her.

….

Seamus ran around the castle wearing his new shirt. His aim was to get as many people wearing them as possible. He was planning on selling them. This was just the advertising part. He only had fifty, so they were  _limited edition_. This would make them in demand and cool. Or at least, he hoped it would. Not that he was using them to make money, he was just exploiting the fact that people would want them. Sometimes he really thought he should have been a Slytherin.


	27. Chapter 27

The rest of the day drifted by for Harry. He had been planning to to talk to Ron, but he was asleep. So Harry played chess with Ginny who beat him convincingly. He was dreading dinner because Draco sent him a letter telling him that they would explain things to the rest of the school that night.

However, seeing as he had not found a way to stop time before dinner, said meal eventually rolled around. He sighed and picked himself up from the floor of the common room where he was laying, due to lack of anything else to do, and stalked down to dinner.

The hall went silent as he entered. Apparently everyone knew they were making an announcement. Harry sighed. Draco sauntered up to him from the Slytherin table.

"Yes, we've come to explain that rumor that's spread though the school like wildfire," Draco said to the assembled crowd. "Yes, see Harry and I have a very special relationship," he continued. The hall broke into whispers.

"See, we're pretending to be going out, so that  _he_  doesn't have to marry Goyle's sister," Harry said. The whispering stopped.

"Yeah, I went and rescued him from his house," Draco laughed.

"Oh shut up."

"Yeah, and we pretended to my dad and everyone that we were in fact going out. Because, to be honest, who would _really_  believe that? Oh wait... All of you did," Draco laughed. A few people laughed with him.

"Yes, which meant I had to," Harry paused. " _Kiss_  him!" He made a face.

"Hey! That's not very nice. I had to kiss you too!" More people were laughing now.

"Anyway," Harry continued, glaring at Draco. “Crabbe, the starter of these rumors, saw us pretending to my father, and believed it!"

"Well, we're very good at that, Har," Draco said.

"True," Harry conceded.

"Kiss him now then!" someone called.

"What?" They asked simultaneously. "No!" They laughed again.

"You're obviously rubbish at pretending then!" someone else called.

"Not true!" Harry cried.

"No. Really not," Draco agreed. "Fine. Come here, Potter." Harry shrugged and turned to face Draco. A collective gasp went up as Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy made out in front of the entire school. Then the whistles and the catcalls started.

"That's so hot!"

"HARRY ARE YOU INSANE?! That's MALFOY!"

"That's just wrong!"

"Draco! What are you doing? It's a Gryffindork!"

"Nooooo! I love you Harry!" They pulled away. Harry grinned.

"And you said we couldn't be believable..." He shook his head. The hall fell silent again.

"But Draco, you took the Dark Mark for him! How is it that you're  _not really_  going out?" It was Crabbe. The whispers started again.

"Death Eater?"

"Is he a spy?"

"Expel him!"

"But he's so sexy!"

"Yes, he took the Dark Mark for me," Harry said. The whispers stopped. "Well, what the hell would you do? Let me die? I'm apparently your fucking savior. At least, I'm the only one who can kill _him_. So, Draco did that to save you ungrateful lot, so shut up about it. And no he's not a spy."

"Yeah, Harry almost died. Voldemort was about to kill him, so I took the mark to save him. It was the only thing I could do. But Voldemort can go fuck himself for all I care," Draco said. "I hate him."

"But Draco!" Crabbe protested.

"It's Malfoy to you," Draco snapped. (The crowd ohhhhhed.)

"It's such personal sacrifice... Why would you do that just for the wizarding world? You're bloody selfish most of the time!" Damn it. The gorilla boy had a point.

"Okay, fine. It's also because we're friends. And that's what friends do for each other," Draco said. (The crowd awwwwed.)

"Yeah, as it turns out, he's not so bad to hang out with. Positively fun at times," Harry laughed.

"Oh shut up," Draco snapped.

"Yeah, so that's just to set the record straight, and now I'm going to go eat my dinner." Harry stalked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down in between a grinning Seamus and a shell shocked Ron. Life was as usual.

"Oh, and Creabbe,” Draco said. "If you tell any of them about this, I'll hunt you down." Lots of people nodded in a agreement. Crabbe scowled but nodded. Harry smiled. Draco nodded to show that all was well before walking over to the Slytherin table and sitting down between Blaise and Pansy who weren't looking at each other.

"Hey guys, how are you?"

"Fine," they said together. Draco sighed.

"So you're friends with Potter then?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah. He's actually a really nice guy."

"That's nice. So what was that fight on the train about?"

"He he. We thought we should pretend things were normal. But then ASSHOLE over there opened his BIG FAT MOUTH and we had to admit it."

"Yeah. I want to beat up Crabbe,” Blaise agreed.

"Ooh! Can we?" Pansy asked.

"If you want to, I'm not going to stop you. Although, it would set a bad example for the other students if their _Head Boy_  and  _Prefect_  went around beating people up."

"Damn, you're right," Blaise said, glaring at his plate. "I hate it when you're right."

….

"I think I'm going to be sick," Ron said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"You just made out with Malfoy!"

"So? I've done it before."

"Aaaah!" Ron cried. "Stop reminding me!" He looked faintly green.

"It's like you making out with Hermione!" Harry argued.

"No it's not! You're both  _boys_  and it's just.."

"Yes?" asked Seamus. "What's wrong with two boys making out?"

"No! I didn't mean that. I meant that… it's just  _Malfoy_! Why not Zabini? Or Boot! Or someone who isn't ferret face!"

"The ferret face in question happens to be my friend Ron," Harry said quietly. Ron frowned.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because he's mean! And manipulative! And a Death Eater, Harry! He's a Death Eater!"

"Yeah, because he was saving my ass when he became one! He had to go through all the training, everything, all for me. It was awful! He would come home bruised and bloody at one o'clock in the morning only to have to go out again at nine. You have no idea what you're talking about Ron. And maybe I'll tell you one day, but right now we're eating dinner and this is not the time."

"Harry, I still don't understand how can you be friends with that  _thing_." Ron asked.

"Because he's a nice person actually. I'll tell you in time. You aren't ready for it yet. You're still in shock. Nice shirt Seamus," Harry said, changing the subject.

"Thanks, Har. I made it myself," Seamus said. Ron scowled and looked away.

"Aw come on, Ron! Give him a chance!" Harry said.

"Fine. I'll give him a chance. But if he calls me Weasel, or The King, or anything  _stupid_  like that, I'm walking away. Okay? You can be friends with him, but if he's mean to me, I'm not going to be friends with him. Obviously," Ron said. Harry nodded.

"That's fair. But you have to be nice to him too. No calling him Ferret or anything."

"How about Draco Malfoy, the  _amazing_  bouncing ferret?" Ron asked, winking. Harry laughed.

"No!"

"I know, Har, I know. It was a joke," Ron said and Harry smiled.

"Anyhow, who are you going to vote for in this Superlatives Competition thing?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was thinking of voting your  _pal_  Malfoy for Most Likely To Own a Town, because he is," Ron replied. Harry laughed. "And for Most Likely to Be a Philosophical Genius, I was going to vote for Seamus. As a joke."

"Hey!" Seamus cried. "I heard that! I can  _so_ be deep and meaningful! For example: Uh… Money does not grow on trees… it grows in BANKS!" Harry laughed. Seamus hung his head. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'm shite at philosophy."

"It's okay, Shame. You'll win Coolest Prefect for sure!" Harry said.

"Nah, Har. That'll be you!"

"No. I'm not half as cool as you."

"Fine. You can be Most Likely To Die in a Highly Exciting Way."

"Why does everyone keep telling me I'm going to die in a highly exciting way?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"'Cause you're Harry Potter, mate," Ron said.

"Oh, yeah. Damn," Harry said. Ron and Seamus laughed.

"I can't wait for the results to come out!" Seamus exclaimed. "It's so exciting!"

"I wonder who will win cutest couple," Ron said.

"Probably Hannah Abbott and what's his name from Ravenclaw," Seamus suggested. "Haven't they been going out since like… fifth year?"

"Yeah, something like that. Anthony Goldstein right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Mm, I can see that," Ron said. "Yeah, I think they'll get my vote."

"Hermione will obviously be Smartest Person," Ron said.

"Yeah, her or Zabini," Seamus agreed.

"Nah, Zabini's not as smart as her. He'll win Most Studious instead."

"Ooh! You're right!"

"Yeah, and Dean will win Most Artistic," Harry said. "The rest of us can't draw for shit."

"Haha! Never a truer word, Har!" Ron cried.

"Actually, Zabini can draw well apparently," Seamus said.

"Yeah, but everyone knows Dean is the best."

"That's true, Ron. He's bound to win. I was just saying that Zabini draws well too. I posed for him once."

"You  _what_ , Seamus?"

"Posed for him. He needed a subject to draw for his Art project and I was… ahem… there."

"He's gay?" Ron asked.

"Pansexual."

"Oh," Ron said. There was a short pause. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you're attracted to people regardless to their gender or sexuality."

"Oh…”

"Yeah."

"Wait… there's an Art class here?"

"Of course! They have all sorts of highly exciting classes that you two aren't signed up for. Hermione told you what to take didn't she, Ron?"

"Um… yes?" Ron said.

"And Harry, you just did whatever Ron did right?" Seamus asked.

"Um… yes?" Harry said.

"Silly. There are loads of other classes here, such as art. There's music. And story writing. And fashion designing, my personal favorite class. That's how I knew how to make these shirts. There's a special skill to it. And then, I think the house elves teach cooking. And Professor McGonagall has a special class on cleaning and taking care of houses."

"Bloody hell, Harry! How did we  _miss_  all of this, mate?" Ron asked incredulously. Harry shrugged.

"We let Hermione tell us what to take."

"Oh. Yeah. I know! Let's see if we can transfer!"

"In N.E.W.T. Year?"

"Yeah…?"

"No."

"Awwww."

"Oh get over it." Ron scowled and crossed his arms. "Sulking doesn't work on me. Transfer if you want, but I sure as hell don't want to take up anything new for my final year."

"Fine, maybe I will. I can cook. Mum teaches me all the time. I'll see if I can try that for a bit."

"What would you drop?" Seamus asked.

"Um… charms? I don't know. Maybe I could take an extra course," Ron said, shrugging. Harry nodded. If Ron wanted more work, he could have more work. "I'll talk to McGonagall about it."

"You do that," Harry said.

The rest of dinner passed uneventfully. It seemed that people didn't really care that he and Draco were now friends. A few of the younger years still looked a bit shocked at the kissing, but on the whole, the school seemed fine with it, which was good. It meant less stress for Harry. And that he could openly talk to Draco in the corridors. Not that he could kiss him openly in the corridors. Not yet at any rate…


	28. Chapter 28

The next few days past in a blur for everyone at Hogwarts. The new DADA teacher still hadn't turned up, so the school merely had several free lessons. To the first years it was a time for running around. For the older years, it was a time to get some work done. Even though they were only just back to school, the workload was already huge.

Ron groaned as he sat down on the sofa next to Harry.

"Why did I take up cooking as well?" he asked.

"Because you wanted to," Harry replied, not looking up from his Potions essay. He didn't know why he was still doing Potions. Oh yeah. Because he wanted to be an Auror. Maybe he should be a Professional Quidditch player instead. It would be so much easier. But then he wouldn't have the training with which to take down Voldemort. Damn.

"Seriously mate. Why did you let me take up cooking?" Ron asked, interrupting Harry's essay again. Harry sighed. Bezoars were going to have to wait. "I'm practically the only boy in my class!" Ron whined. "Apart from your friend Malfoy." He laughed.

"Draco takes cooking?!" Harry asked, properly concentrating on the conversation.

"Yeah. And he's damn good at it too. He says it's a bit like Potions."

"My god he's gay," Harry said.

"What?"

"Nothing." Harry tried not to look shifty.

"Harry," Ron said in a warning tone.

"What?" asked Harry, doing his best to look innocent.

"What did you just say?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Nothing. I said nothing. There. I just said nothing again."

"Ha. Ha. So Malfoy's gay, huh?" Ron asked.

"Ron.  _I'm_  gay," Harry said.

"So? I'm not talking about you. I'm taking about Malfoy."

"Yeah, okay, Draco's gay. So what?"

"I  _knew_ it! No wonder he's so good at cooking!"

"Why does being gay make him good at cooking?" Harry asked.

"Because he's less self-conscious about wearing the pink aprons," Ron replied. Harry laughed and put his hand to his forehead.

"Ron! Do you  _really_  think that's the reason?" he asked.

"Um. No. But it was a theory."

"You're just jealous because he's better than you, aren't you?" Harry asked, with a grin on his face.

"No!" There was a pause. "Okay, maybe. That and he's  _Malfoy_."

"Hey! He's a nice person really."

"So you keep saying… Say, Har, why did you agree to go to his house over the summer?"

"I don't know. It seemed like fun. More fun than staying at the Dursleys’ at any rate," Harry said.

"Fair enough. What kind of things did you have to do? Apart from make out in front of his parents." Ron shuddered at that.

"Um. We went horseback riding. We participated in witty banter with Voldemort. Did you know, Voldemort used to be a rent boy?" Ron went a pale green color. "Yes, and we tried to kill him. And failed and then it was all fun and games while he went off and almost killed himself with the Death Eater training they made him do. So I stayed at home during that. Doing fuck all. Waiting for him to come home, covered in blood and utterly exhausted, traumatized by the things they made him do.

"Oh."

"Yeah. He sacrificed a lot to take the Mark for me," Harry said.

"I know," Ron said, looking seriously at Harry. "I understand. I just don't understand  _why_  he would give up so much for you… Is there something going on between you two? I won't care if there is. I'm beginning to accept him as a person. I'm just jealous of his cooking skills." Harry grinned. "Well is there?"

"Don't tell anybody, but yes," Harry said, looking away. He didn't want to see the disgust he knew would cross Ron's face.

"Good for you mate," Ron said. Harry looked up, surprised. "What? Did you think I'd be utterly horrified?"

"Well, yes."

"Why?"

"Because you've always hated him," Harry said. "Vehemently," he added after a moment.

"Because my father hated his father. Then I talked to the guy properly, because you like him, and I realized he wasn'tallbad." Harry smiled.

"I wouldn't say we were friends, but we don't hate each other anymore. I've rethought my opinions of the Slytherins, although I still don't like Zabini." Harry nodded. That was understandable. "You know who's really quite nice from Slytherin is Pansy Parkinson. She's in my cooking class too. We've paired together recently."

"I can't say I know her well," Harry said. "But I'm sure she's nice."

"She is. She's actually really intelligent. We have really interesting conversations about the strangest things like Muggle Aviation," Ron said. Harry nodded.

"And let me guess… you also think she's hot?" Harry asked.

"No!"

"That was a bit too protesting for me to quite believe you." Harry grinned as Ron went scarlet. "It's okay, Ron. You're allowed to like other people after Hermione."

"I know, but this soon?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Harry shook his head. Poor Ron. So innocent. Little did Harry know, but Ron was not nearly as innocent as he seemed. He was fast acquiring a reputation. As a man whore.

…..

"'Mione!" Blaise shouted from his desk.

"What?" she called from the bathroom where she was putting her hair up.

"I've lost my pen! I swear I just had it!" he cried. She sighed and finished tying up her hair before walking back into their common room. Blaise was frantically throwing papers in the air looking for his pen.

"Accio Blaise's pen!" Hermione cried, whipping out her wand. The pen flew out from behind his ear and landed in her hand. He started laughing.

"I would have never thought to look  _there_!" He said and she laughed. "What would I do without you?" he asked.

"Buy a new pen?"

"No seriously. How did I manage in the past?"

"I don't know." She sighed. She found it strange that nothing had really happened between them so far. True, it had only been a few days, but they lived in the same quarters and spent a lot of time together. She knew she was attracted to him and couldn't do anything about it, but she didn't know how he felt about her.

"I guess I called Pansy for help in the past," he said quietly. She nodded.

"I see," she said. She didn't know quite what else to say. "Um. Well, I'm going to… ah… go help the first years with their homework," she said and hurried out of the room. He sat there for a moment before frowning. What was that about? Did his talking about Pansy unnerve her? Was it possible then that she liked him back?

He sighed and shook his head. He didn't have the time to think about it. He had to finish this damn essay for Sinistra. He put his newly re-found pen to the paper and started writing.

…..

"Yes," Ron moaned. He needed this. The girl beneath him gasped slightly in pain. He ignored her and kept going. He needed the release. She was just there for that. He barely knew her name. She didn't care though. She was as much in this for the random sex as he was.

….

Dinner that night was an exciting affair. The Sorting Hat for the Superlatives Competition was finally set out on a stand and the voting sheets were passed out. Seamus got very excited and started frantically filling his out. Harry glanced at it and sighed. He had no clue who to vote for.

Well, he had until the end of the week to figure it out. He knew who some of his votes were going to. Draco would obviously be getting Best Looking Male. Ron was Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi Just Because as he sang Bon Jovi Just Because anyway. He supposed he'd put Seamus in a box and that Ginny would probably have the most kids… But beyond that, he didn't really know what to put. He sighed and put the sheet in his bag. He would think about it later.

Seamus finished writing with a flourish and put his quill down.

"Done!" he cried. Harry scowled at him. "What, Har?" he asked.

"Nothing," Harry said. "I just don't know who to vote for."

"Well, you have till the end of the week, Har," Seamus said. "Don't worry about it. Plus, if you really don't know who to vote for one, you can leave it blank."

"You can?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." That made things easier. "Thanks, Shame," he said.

"Anytime Har," Seamus said before running over to the Sorting Hat and putting his piece of completed paper inside. Harry sighed. He had a week… now, who for Most Likely to -

His thoughts were interrupted as the doors of the Great Hall opened. Muggle music floated through them and the whole school collectively turned to look towards the Entrance Hall.

Harry frowned. He thought he recognized the music. Dudley had played it a lot over the summer which had rather worried Harry. Jump In My Car by David Hasselhoff. What was going on?

Suddenly a man appeared in the doorway. Harry jumped. It was the Hoff himself! What was he doing at Hogwarts?

Dumbledore stood up.

"David! Ah welcome. I was beginning to think you'd never come," he said.

"What? Am I late? I thought this was the start of term!" The Hoff replied.

"No, that was a week ago."

"Oh. Sorry. Well, I'm here now." The Hoff grinned. The students looked at each other confused. The witches and wizards confused as to who this man was, and the muggle-borns as to what the hell he was doing in their school.

"Come, sit down, David," Dumbledore said. The Hoff walked up the Great Hall and sat in the chair motioned to him by Dumbledore who then turned and addressed the students. "This is Professor Hasselhoff. He is the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher!"

Some of the muggle-borns laughed. They were unsure as to whether Dumbledore was joking or not. When no one else joined in, they stopped, realizing that  _actually_ Prof Hoff was in fact a teacher. The witches and wizards stopped looking confused and went back to eating. They didn't know who David Hasselhoff was. Shame on them.

Prof Hoff grinned at the school before starting to eat his dinner. Dumbledore continued his speech.

"Professor Hasselhoff may be known to some of you as David Hasselhoff, the famous Muggle, but he is secretly a highly trained Auror. He has worked for the Ministry for many years, trying to track down Voldemort," (There was a collective gasp from the assembled at which Harry rolled his eyes) "And it is a great privilege to have him to teach you. Please welcome Professor Hasselhoff with a round of applause." The students complied and Prof Hoff looked up again and smiled.

Harry laughed quietly. Just another day at Hogwarts.


	29. Chapter 29

The whole school was in uproar. David Hasselhoff… a teacher?! Apparently so. And it sounded as if he was a good one too. After every class of his ended, a stream of students came out beaming and talking wildly... Harry was impatient for his own lesson with The Hoff as the behavior reminded him almost of when Moody came to Hogwarts and mad as Moody was (and as much as he had secretly been a Death Eater the whole time), they had learned a lot.

Thus Harry was very excited when Thursday rolled around. Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, not that it bothered Harry anymore which house they were with as he liked people from all the houses now. Hell, he really liked one of them! Although they hadn't been able to spend much time together since school started, what with work and Harry's "problem". He really ought to ask Hermione about that, but she was hardly ever around anymore.

Harry observed that she and Blaise were becoming closer and closer as the days wore on. He wondered whether they'd actually gotten together yet. He didn't think they had, but he hadn't talked to her about that in a while... He knew she wanted things to happen, but was unsure of how he felt. He wondered if she'd just bitten the bullet and kissed him yet.

He couldn't talk to Ron about that though for although Ron seemed to be into a new person, he still seemed distant. Perhaps he was occupied with work…

So Harry sat next to Draco in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Ron looked at him, confused and a bit lost. Hermione was sitting with Blaise; Harry was with Draco… Who was he supposed to sit with? Luckily, Pansy came sailing through the door a second later and he sat next to her, secretly smiling to himself.

"So, what do you think Hasselhoff will be like as a teacher?" Draco asked Harry who shrugged.

"I dunno. Apparently he's good."

"Bet he's not as good as you!"

"Draco!"

"What?!" Draco asked, smirking.

"I'm not that good. I mean… Look at what happened this summer..." Harry said.

"It was an accident, Har."

"I know, but I still feel bad." He hung his head and frowned. Draco reached out and took his hand. He flinched and pulled it away. "Scar," he mumbled, frowning even more.

"We should talk to Dumbledore about that, Har," Draco said. Harry nodded. "He'll probably know what to do, and why it only hurts sometimes." Harry nodded again.

At this point they were interrupted by the arrival of The Hoff. He was wearing a shirt that read 'Don't Hassel the Hoff'. Harry smiled at that.

"Good morning class. I'm Professor Hasselhoff, but you can call me Prof Hoff as it's shorter. Right. Now. To business! Today we're going to be learning about Voldemort, because I think you guys should know about him. We're going to be studying his past, his followers, everything. And some of the information will come from you guys," Prof Hoff looked pointedly at Harry and Draco. "Because some of you know more about parts of him than I do. This is going to be a class project for the entire term. At the end, I hope we shall have gathered enough information for us to truly be able to defeat him."

The class stared. A few of them blinked. Almost in unison. Draco raised a hand.

"Uh, sir?" he asked.

"Please, call me Prof Hoff! Sir is so… old sounding." Draco nodded.

"Where are we going to be getting our information from?"

"All over the place. Some from you, some from books, some from Muggle technology called The Internet," he paused. The wizards in the class were starting to look worried. "It's okay. I'll teach you how to use it. Oh and some from going out, yes outside of school, and talking to people. Any other questions?" Silence reigned. "Right. Then we'll begin."

They spent the rest of the lesson learning about Voldemort's heritage. Long story short: he was descended from Salazar Slytherin, and some muggles.

The class went out chattering excitedly.

"Wow mate!" cried Ron as he caught up with Harry in the corridor. "That was intense! And amazing! This'll be really useful for you with fighting  _him_  too, won't it?!" he asked. Harry nodded. "Hasselhoff is great! Isn't he?" Harry nodded again. Prof Hoff was actually turning out to be the most useful DADA teacher Harry had ever had.

They enthused about this together until they reached their next lesson which was Potions where Snape was his usual grumpy self. They were assigned pairs to work on a Polyjuice Potion which they would work on until the end of term. Harry, as usual in Potions, was paired with Draco, only now he didn't mind anymore. Snape didn't care that Harry enjoyed Draco's company. He paired people he thought would work well on the potion together, and Potter and Malfoy seemed to be getting along well these days.

Harry and Draco high fived as they sat down at their desk. Snape ignored them and continued writing the instructions up on the board. Harry got out a quill and a roll of parchment and started copying them down. He vaguely remembered bits of method from second year, but not much.

Draco finished copying the instructions down before Harry did and so went to the store cupboard to start getting the ingredients needed. Once Harry had finished too, he helped with the ingredients. There were only a few to get as it was the start of the potion, so they spent the rest of the lesson preparing them and adding some to their cauldron.

The bell rang and the class excitedly cleared up their desks. Today was the day when they would announce the winners of the Superlatives Competition and it meant that they had the rest of the afternoon off.

There was going to be a special late lunch starting at two which would last right the way through the ceremony and the students had the next hour and a half until then in order to get ready for the celebration. They were required to dress smartly, in dress robes, as the teachers had told them that there was a surprise after the ceremony.

The corridors were jam packed by the time Harry and Draco emerged from clearing up. Harry scowled. He hated crowded corridors. Oh well. The ceremony would be fun.

Harry sighed and said goodbye to Draco before making his was slowly up to Gryffindor Tower which was packed with overexcited students. Harry sighed rather loudly and began fighting his way across to the stairs.

Ron and Dean were already changed into their dress robes when Harry finally made it into their dorm room. Seamus and Neville were missing. Seamus was probably outside with the excited students. Neville was probably stuck by the Portrait Hole, unable to get through the mass of students.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Ron, who was staring at himself in the mirror, sighing loudly.

"I hate these dress robes," he said. "They don't go with my hair color," he said. Harry nodded in sympathy. Light green did tend to clash horribly with orange. "Do we  _have_  to go to this ceremony thing?"

"Yes!" cried Dean. "I mean, what if you win something?!"

"Ha. What would  _I_ win anyway?" Ron asked.

" _Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi Just Because_ ," Harry said at once. Ron tilted his head to the side skeptically. "Well Ron, you do anyway!" Ron nodded.

"I just wish my robes were a different color," he moaned.

"At least they don't have lace on them," Harry said, grinning. Ron grimaced.

"You're right. Those were worse.  _Much_  worse."

"And you could… ah…  _change_  the color of them, Ron," Harry said. Ron smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Of course! How could I forget?!" He took out his wand and changed his robes to navy blue. "There. That's better," he said. Harry nodded. Dean stared for a moment before getting out his own wand and fiddling with the color of his robes too. Harry laughed and put on his own robes.

As he was fastening them, Seamus burst into the room.

"Hi guys!" he said enthusiastically. "You ready for the presentation ceremony?" They nodded. "Boy am I excited!" He changed quickly into his dress robes and then started running around the room trying to get the other boys as excited as he was. Harry grinned. Seamus was something else.

The door opened suddenly and Neville came in. His robes were all disheveled and he looked tired.

"What happened Neville?" Harry asked.

"I… uh… got stuck in the common room," he said, dropping his chin to his chest.

"Did the first years mob you again?" Harry asked. Neville nodded.

"Well, screw them! It's party time! Let's get you ready!" shouted Seamus, grabbing Neville's hand and dragging him over to his trunk. Neville nodded and meekly began to get dressed. Seamus continued running around the room. Once Neville was dressed however, he stopped and looked very serious.

"This is it guys," he said solemnly." Are you ready?" Everyone nodded. "Right then… Let's go!" Seamus cried and ran out of the room. Harry and Ron shrugged and followed, Neville and Dean close behind them.

The Common Room was still crowded, so Harry took Neville's hand going through it. When they reached the other side, Neville thanked him.

"Eh, no problem," Harry said. Neville smiled. "Let's go rock this show!" Everyone grinned and hurried down to the Great Hall where the younger students were milling around as only the older students were allowed to get seats until all the older students were seated.

The Gryffindor boys took their seats, near the teachers' table and continued speculating who might win each category.

This continued until all the students were situated and Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers had processed in. Silence fell as all the teachers but Dumbledore sat down.

"Welcome!" cried Dumbledore, "To the first ever Hogwarts Superlative Competition!" The students clapped. "The votes have now all been tallied and we have our winners!" More clapping. Some cheering. "Now, different teachers will each read out and give the prize for different categories. The prizes will be awarded in the order that they were in on the list. Good. Now that that's out of the way… Let the presentations begin!" The hall erupted into cheers. Dumbledore smiled happily and sat down.

Professor McGonagall stood up. The hall quieted. She cleared her throat.

"Best Looking Male," she read from her piece of parchment, going slightly red. "Is Draco Malfoy." The Slytherin Table exploded into applause. Draco stood up, smirking. He'd known it would be him. I mean, no one could hold a flame to him. Apart from, perhaps, Harry. He looked over to the raven haired boy as he walked up to the staff table and Harry grinned at him. He took his award from McGonagall and sat down again. The hall fell silent.

Hagrid stood up next.

"Roight. Er… Best lookin' female is," he squinted down at his piece of parchment. "Ah! Ginny Weasley!" Harry clapped for her enthusiastically with the rest of the Gryffindor table. Ron clapped her on the back as she went up to receive her prize. She was blushing crimson.

"Atta girl Ginny! Mum'll be so proud!" Ron yelled. She sat down again. Professor Sinistra announced Hannah Abbott and Anthony Goldstein as cutest couple as expected and then came the highly anticipated Coolest Prefect.

The prefects held their breaths as Professor Snape stood up. He glared down at his piece of paper.

"Coolest prefect," he spat. "Goes to Seamus Finnegan." Seamus punched his arm in the air and whooped. The rest of the Gryffindors joined him in cheering as he ran up to collect his prize.

"See Shame," Harry said as Seamus sat back down. "I told you you'd win Coolest Prefect!"

"Did you?" Seamus asked. Harry laughed, but didn't get a chance to reply as Professor Sprout stood up.

"Best Fashion Sense goes to Lavender Brown!" she announced cheerfully. Lavender squealed and went to collect her prize. Harry thought vaguely that Draco should have won that one, but he guessed people usually thought of fashion sense as coming from a girl. Lavender sat down and Professor Flitwick squeakily announced Hermione as Smartest Person.

"No surprises there," Ron muttered to Harry. Harry grinned and continued to clap Hermione.

Most Studious went to a shocked Blaise Zabini who walked up stuttering that Hermione should have won that.

"Yeah," muttered Ron darkly. "Because he would know." Harry ignored him. Professor Vector handed Blaise the prize, beaming. Blaise was a student of his.

Best Dancer went to Neville who blushed crimson and began stuttering. Professor Dumbledore handed him his prize and whispered something to him. He smiled and sat down again.

"What did he say?" Seamus demanded.

"Er… he said he thought it was because of all of the practice I did with my coat," Neville said, blushing again. Seamus laughed.

It was Trelawney who gave out Most Artistic which went to Dean. All the Gryffindor boys gave him a look as if to say ' _I told you so_ ' as he went up to collect it. He just grinned at them.

Firenze the Centaur stood up as Dean returned to his seat.

"Most Likely To Be Picked For Major League Quidditch," he said. "Is Harry Potter!"

Hagrid beamed at Harry as Harry went to collect his prize. "Well done, 'Arry," he said as Harry reached the table.

"Thanks," Harry said, taking his prize from Firenze and then went to sit back down again. Ron clapped him on the back.

"Nice one, mate," he said. Harry smiled. He noticed rather uncomfortably that Ron was the only Gryffindor boy not to have won anything yet. Oh well, he was sure to win  _Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi…_

Hermione won Most Likely To Succeed next which was given by Professor Binns who then dropped his piece of parchment and floated out of the hall looking dazed. McGonagall gave Hermione her prize instead.

Hermione was followed by Neville who won Most Inspirational. The round faced boy looked shocked as his name was called out. Seamus had to prod him out of his seat to go pick up his prize which was given to him by Professor Sinistra.

Prof Hoff handed out Most Eager to Colin Creevey who ran up to the table to get it, much to the amusement of all.

Most Mischievous went to Seamus who winked at Professor McGonagall as she gave it to him. She gave him a stern glare and he skipped back to the Gryffindor table.

Hagrid gave Most Likely To Entertain to Michael Corner.

Harry looked quizzically at Ron.

"Why him?" he asked.

"Well, I guess because he plays guitar… Rumor has it he's going to start a band." Ron said. Harry nodded to show he understood.

Terry Boot was announced Most Likely to Be Minister For Magic by Snape who nodded cordially at him. Harry supposed Snape was happy it wasn't a Gryffindor.

Professor Sprout gave Ernie Macmillan Most Likely to Have a Mental Breakdown, assuring him that if he ever needed anything that he could go to her. He nodded and then hurried back to the Hufflepuff table.

Flitwick gave Zacharias Smith the award for Most Metrosexual, before Professor Vector announced Terry Boot as the gayest boy. Terry grinned and walked up to receive it, hips swinging.

Harry looked over and caught Draco's eye, winking at him. He thought back to one of their first conversations that summer. Draco had asked him about who he'd slept with, and well, Terry had been one of them and the same had held true with Draco. It was odd to think of that now that they were together.

He sighed and turned his mind back to the competition where Dumbledore was handing the award Funniest Drunk to Neville who had again blushed crimson.

Trelawney dreamily announced Ron as the Funniest Dancer and Ron laughed before going to collect the prize for it.

"I'm not that bad at dancing am I?" he asked, sitting back down.

"Sorry Ron," said Ginny. "But you kind of are…" Ron made a face before laughing again.

Michael Corner was called up again by Firenze, this time for Most Likely to Start a Band.

As he sat down there was some confusion up at the Teacher's Table as Binns had wandered off after his last announcement. In the end, Dumbledore read out the winner for Most Likely to Be Found Procrastinating. It turned out to be Ron who accepted it, grinning sheepishly.

Professor Sinistra stood up.

"It seems here that we have a tie," she said. "For Most Likely To Be A Model!" The hall rustled. "So would you both come up please? Draco Malfoy and Lavender Brown!" Ron burst out laughing.

"Ha ha!" he cried. "Malfoy." Harry hit him. "Your boyfriend's a male model!" Ron sniggered, unheeded by Harry's hitting him. So Harry kicked him instead.

"Keep it down," he muttered. "People aren't meant to know."

"Oh yeah," Ron said. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Harry needn't have worried anyway. The hall was noisy enough that no one heard them.

Draco and Lavender returned to their seats.

Prof Hoff stood up.

"Right. Well now. This was an interesting category. Most Likely to Be Famous. All of you voted Harry Potter, but guys, he's  _already_  famous, so your votes don't count, so we've had to use who Harry chose, which is… RON WEASLEY!" Ron sat rooted to his chair as people cheered.

"You… chose me?" he asked. Harry nodded. "Thanks."

"Anytime… Now go get your prize!" Harry cried. Ron nodded and walked, dazed, to the staff table. As soon as he had sat down, McGonagall stood up again.

"Most Likely to Be a Philosophical Genius is… Luna Lovegood!" she announced. The pale haired girl stood up and bobbed up to the front to collect her prize. As she returned to her seat, Hagrid stood up and announced Lisa Turpin, the Ravenclaw, as Most Likely to Discover New Things. Lisa positively glowed as she walked up to collect her prize.

Snape stood as she walked back to her seat. He stared down at his piece of parchment in disdain.

"Sexiest Boy," he said in a withering voice. "Is Draco Malfoy." He frowned then looked mildly impressed. It  _was_  one of his students after all. Draco swaggered up proudly to collect his prize, turning and winking at Harry as he reached the table. Harry knew that look. It meant:  _Ha. Aren't you lucky to have me?_  Harry rolled his eyes. Draco smirked and returned to his seat.

Professor Sprout stood up.

"Well then. Sexiest  _Girl_  is Pansy Parkinson!" she cried. The Slytherin table cheered. Someone began a chant of,

"Slytherin are the sexiest!"

Harry glanced over at Ron who was watching Pansy walk up. Harry waved a hand in front of Ron's face. Ron blinked.

"Sorry, what?" he asked. Harry laughed.

"Nothing." Ron frowned for a moment then went back to watching Pansy who was now returning to her seat. Harry sighed and turned his attention back to the staff table where Professor Flitwick stood up.

"Ahem, Most Likely to Own a Town," he peered at his parchment. "Is Draco Malfoy." Harry burst out laughing. Draco saw this as he stood up and glared at him. Harry ignored him and continued laughing.

Draco walked up to the teacher's table with as much pride as he could muster. Fancy Harry  _laughing_  at him! Humph. Well, whatever. He accepted his prize graciously from Flitwick and turned to walk back to his seat when Professor Vector stopped him.

"Mr Malfoy. You may as well stay here as you've won Most "Gangsta"." Vector said, frowning at the word gangsta.

At this Harry laughed even harder. Draco? Gangsta? Hadn't Lucius even told Draco he wasn't gangsta? He looked up to see Draco glaring at him. He quickly forced his face into a sorry expression, but he couldn't keep a small smile from his face. Draco rolled his eyes at Harry and stalked back to his seat.

Dumbledore stood up.

"Right," he said. "Most "Street" goes to Ben Harper!" The Slytherin stood up. Harry didn't laugh this time. Ben Harper actually  _was_  street. Ben collected his prize to the cheers of the Slytherins, and then returned to their table.

Trelawney stood up. She adjusted her glasses and peered at the parchment before her.

"Most Adorable Boy," she said. "Is Neville Longbottom." Neville smiled and Seamus prodded him to go and collect his prize. As soon as he was seated again, Firenze stood up.

"Most Adorable Girl," he announced. "Is Ginny Weasley." The girl blushed and graciously went to collect her prize. Ron glowed in pride. Dumbledore stood up before Ginny left the table and announced that she was also named Most Likely To End Up With Lots Of Kids at which she laughed and gratefully accepted the prize.

Sinistra stood up. Shaking back her hair, she read out the next category and winner.

"Most Likely To Become A Muggle Superstar is… Seamus Finnegan!" she said brightly. Seamus leapt up, a grin on his face. Prof Hoff winked at him as he approached the table and Seamus started singing  _Jump in My Car_ , much to the amusement of the students  _and_  the Hoff who stood up and joined in.

The Hoff stayed standing as Seamus returned to the table. It was his turn to read out a category.

"We have another tie!" he announced. "For Person You Would Most Like to Put in a Box and Keep as a Pet! Would Mr Blaise Zabini and Mr Seamus Finnegan both come up please?"

Seamus burst out laughing, but stood up. Blaise sat in disbelief until someone prodded him and he went up to the front.

"Why me?" he stuttered.

"Well, you're the cutest Head Boy we've had in a while," Seamus said, winking roguishly. "Maybe that's it!" Blaise frowned at him. Seamus shrugged. Blaise shrugged too and they both accepted their prizes before hurrying back to their seats.

McGonnagal stood and cleared her throat.

"Ah, Person You Would Most Like to Hug goes to Gregory Goyle," she said. Goyle didn't move.

“Greg?” Draco asked, poking him. The poor boy was in shock. To be honest, Draco was rather shocked, but then again, Greg was actually quite a softie and a bunch of people knew it. It just seemed that more people knew than they had originally thought! Draco poked him again. Greg shook his head and slowly walked up to the staff table. Everyone cheered. Draco grinned.

When Greg got back to the table he was engulfed with people trying to hug him. Draco laughed and looked up at the staff table. Dumbledore had that twinkle in his eye again.

Then Hagrid stood up.

"Um," he said loudly, trying to get their attention. "Er… hello?" He shuffled his feet. "OI YOU LOT!" he finally shouted. The students settled. "Thanks. Er… So. Most Likely to Die in a Highly Exciting Way is… er… Vincent Crabbe." There were hisses around the hall as Crabbe went to receive his prize. He kept his head down. He knew why he had been voted this.

The hisses stopped when Snape stood up and announced Wayne Hopkins as the person Most Likely to End Up Working in the Ministry at a Boring Desk Job.

Harry thought he knew who the next person would be. If he remembered correctly, it was Most Likely to Bring Sexy Back, and that would  _blatantly_  be Draco.

Harry was right. Professor Sprout confirmed his thoughts and Draco hurried up, sexily of course, to get his award.

Harry was pretty certain of the next category too. Most Likely to Sing Bon Jovi Just Because… That was Ron. In fact, he was humming  _Livin' on a Prayer_  under his breath right now.

Thus Harry was unsurprised when Flitwick called Ron up to receive the prize. Ron pretended to look surprised, but no one was fooled, so he broke in to  _Livin' on a Prayer_ , out loud this time. Everyone laughed.

They were now near the end of the presentations and the students knew it. Some were starting to get restless, excited about the "surprise" that was coming after the presentation. They wanted to know why they'd been told to wear dress robes!

Silence fell again as Professor Vector stood up.

"Right. So. Most Likely to Be the Next David Attenborough is Colin Creevey!" he announced. Colin grinned widely and then ran up to the table. He was impatient for the surprise too.

Finally Dumbledore stood up.

"Our last category," he said. There was a rustle from the assembled students. "Is Most Likely to Accidentally Hassel the Hoff and the winner of that category is Neville Longbottom!" The Gryffindors cheered and Neville went bright red. As he went up to collect his prize, the Hoff winked at him. He tripped over his feet and stumbled.

"Aw, don't worry about it Neville. You can hassle me as much as you like," Prof Hoff laughed. Neville smiled then returned to his seat.

Dumbledore remained standing. The students stared at him in anticipation. He looked around at all of them with that familiar twinkle in his eye.

"Well then. It's time to announce what the surprise is!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I know you've all been waiting patiently to find out what it is. I mean, why would we want you to dress in Dress Robes? Well, you see, us teachers have prepared a very special… let's call it a thing… for you. Now, we'll tell you where to go, then lock you in the Great Hall for ten minutes while we get there before you to make sure things are ready." The hall broke out in mutters.

"Lock us in?"

"Special thing! Wow!

Dumbledore cleared his throat. The hall quieted.

"Thank you, now as I was saying. You are all to go to the previously forbidden Third Floor Corridor. The Seventh Years should know where that is. Follow them. Now Teachers! Follow me!"

The teachers all stood and left the hall. As soon as the last one was out, the doors slammed shut and pandemonium broke out.


	30. Chapter 30

Hermione climbed up onto the table and called for silence. The students ignored her. They were busy trying to get out of the hall. Some people were tugging on the doors but to no avail. Others were just discussing things loudly with their friends.

Blaise clambered onto the table next to Hermione. He took out his wand and fired a firecracker into the air. Silence fell.

"Thank you," Blaise said. "That took you long enough! Just to be quiet… Look! I know you're all excited but calm down! Younger years! You need the seventh years! You don't know where you're going."

"Yes," agreed Hermione. "Most of you don't know where to go. We need to be more organized."

She proceeded to put all the years into lines and all the year lines into one big line with the seventh years in front.

After this had been done, they tried the doors again. This time they opened. There was some excited chatter broke out among the students. What was going on?

The seventh years led the way up the stairs to the third floor and over to the correct corridor. The door that led to it was closed and Dumbledore was standing in front of the door.

"Welcome," he said and opened the door behind him. The students filed in.

The room was dark and they couldn't see where they were going apart from the small amount of light coming from the open door. When all the students had squished in, Dumbledore closed the door. The room went pitch black. A few first years whimpered.

And then the lights went on.

Harry gasped. The whole corridor had been made into a giant room of black and white. Neutral colors. One wall was covered from floor to ceiling with shelves, all filled with games, both Muggle and wizard. There were groups of sofas with coffee tables in the middle of them dotted around the room and piles of bean bags stood against another wall for the taking. There was a Muggle stereo run off magic rather than electricity. A stack of CDs stood beside it.

A collective gasp went up from the students as they looked around.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Tonight there is going to be a party! But this room will always be open as of today. It's a common room for the entire school. Houses don't matter here. We hope you like it!" The students cheered. Harry looked excitedly at Ron.

"How cool is this?" he asked.

"Way cool mate!" Ron replied.

"I wonder what happened to the trap door though…" Harry looked around and noticed a spiral staircase where the trap door used to be. He didn't know how he'd missed it! There was a sight over it reading 16+. Harry put up his hand. Dumbledore called for silence.

"Yes Harry?"

"What are the stairs for?" Harry asked, pointing at them. The students all turned to look.

"Ah yes. Thank you Harry. I was just getting to that. The stairs lead to a section for students over 16. There is an age line on the top stair to prevent younger people going down there. Plus, it's a sort of privilege for the top two years. The stairs lead to more shared common room which you can explore in a minute. But younger years, don't look so glum. You still have this room!" A few of the downcast heads looked up.

"Anyhow," said Dumbledore. "Let the party begin!" The students cheered and began running around, exploring the room. Music came on from the stereo.

Harry looked at Ron.

"Shall we go explore downstairs?" he asked.

"You betcha!" he cried. Ron cried and they started making their way through the students to the stairs.

"At least we don't' have to jump this time!" Harry said, laughing. Ron nodded in agreement. They reached the stairs and started descending them. They looked over the rail as they went, but the room bellow was the same as it had been last time, minus the plant.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over to the door. Harry grasped the door handle and turned it. The door opened and they gasped. It was the room that had been the flying key room. Only now, instead of flying keys flying around, the air was full of flying carpets. There was a was a docking station in the middle of the room and you could fit several people on each carpet. Harry thought he knew now why the younger students weren't allowed down there.

"Wow," said Ron. "This is so cool!"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I wonder what's in the other rooms!" They hurried to the door on the opposite side of the room.

They opened it and gasped. The chess room had changed. The huge chess pieces had moved. They were scattered around the board as decoration and the room was lit with bright lights from above. A huge stereo system stood in the corner. People were slowly filtering through the doors to the chess room. Harry and Ron were the first though as they'd been there before.

"What's this room for?" Ron asked.

"Uh…" said Harry. "Dancing?" Realization showed in Ron's eyes.

"Oh yeah!" he said. He paused and frowned. "Oh no!" his eyes were fearful. "But Harry! I can't dance! I won Funniest Dancer! This is bad!"

"Oh shush, Ron. Everyone can dance. Just remember the three rules of dancing,” Harry said. "Now come on, there are still more rooms to go!"

"There are?"

"Yeah! Three more, oh, but of course! You only went this far," Harry said.

"Thanks for rubbing it in."

"No! Don't be ridiculous! You did that to help us! If you hadn't Quirrel might not have been stopped!" Harry cried. Ron grinned.

"Har," he said. "I was joking."

"Oh," Harry said.

"Now come on! Let's go see!" Ron exclaimed. They opened the door. The last time Harry had done that, a repulsive smell had reached his nostrils as this was where the troll that Quirrel had knocked out had been. This time however, a lovely smell reached them.

Excited, they hurried through the door.

A huge bath full of bubbles was sunk into the floor. Around the side of the room were doors. Harry supposed these were for people to get changed in. There was a diving board along one side and a water slide on the other.

"Whoa. Cool!" Ron said, his eyes the size of dinner plates. (well, not literally)

"I feel a pool party coming on," Harry said, grinning. Yay! Draco without a shirt again!

"Wow! This is so exciting!" Ron cried, dancing on the spot.

"I know! But I wonder what's in the next room!" Harry said. Ron stopped dancing.

"How many more rooms of cool are there going to be?" he asked.

"Well," said Harry. "If they're using all of them… Two more." Ron grinned.

"Come on then!" he said, and hurried over to the other door with Harry right behind him.

"This is where Snape's challenge was," Harry said, as he opened the door.

Inside was a big room, bigger than Harry remembered. The whole room was ocean themed. There were Jelly Fish bean bags, floating at different heights, and tables made of seaweed. Light came from an unknown source in the ceiling. It waved and shimmered like they were really underwater. A blue fire blazed in the coral covered fireplace. A small wheel covered part of the left wall.

"Wow," Harry said, amazed. "This place is  _amazing_!" Ron nodded.

"I wonder what the wheel is for," he said. "Look. It has words on it!"

This was true. The wheel was split into ten sections. Each one was a different color and had words on it. There was Wild West, Arabian nights, Under the Sea, Fairy Forest, Outer Space, Gothic Castle, African Wild Land, Arctic Tundra, Cave and Pirate Ship. Harry wondered what happened when you turned the wheel. He decided to find out.

He turned the wheel to Arctic Tundra. A small pop was heard and instead of the room being Under the Sea themed, it was Arctic Tundra themed! Seals were chairs, ice blocks were tables and the whole room was lit with a chilly blue glow. The temperature however did not change.

"Whoa," said Ron. "That is bloody brilliant!"

"I know!" Harry replied. They spent a few minutes turning the wheel to different themes before Ron asked,

"Are there anymore rooms?"

"Yep," said Harry. "One more."

"Let's go investigate!" Ron cried and ran the length of the room. He reached the door before Harry did and opened it. "Whoa! That is  _wicked_!" Harry heard him yell.

"What is?" Harry called back.

"Come see mate!"

Harry hurried over and walked through the door. He stopped dead in his tracks. The room was a bar. It was smaller than it had been when the Mirror of Erised had been there. Several house elves stood behind the bar. One of them was Dobby.

"Harry Potter sir! It's so good to see you again! What can Dobby get you?" he squeaked.

"Nothing for the moment Dobby!" Harry replied, cutting off Ron who had been beginning to say something which sounded suspiciously like 'fire-whisky'. "We were just looking around."

"Okay Harry Potter, sir! Dobby hopes to see you again soon, sir!" the elf squeaked, tipping his tea cosy hat to Harry and Ron. Harry smiled, grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him out of the room.

"Aww, Harry!" Ron complained.

"Later Ron," Harry said. "We should tell the others about this first. Then we can all party together!"

"You just want to find Malfo- sorry- Draco, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but you can find Pansy! I know you like her."

"Yeah, I guess," Ron said. He was looking awkward.

"What do you mean? You guess?" Harry asked. They were alone in the decorations room.

"Well… I can't like her. I mean, I can't go out with her. I've got a reputation…"

"Say what?"

"Well, I've… er… gained a bit of a reputation… as being… well… a bit of a man whore."

"I'm sorry, what?" Harry asked. His head was spinning slightly. What was Ron going on about?

"I've been sleeping around, Harry!" Ron yelled. Harry blinked. Ron? Sleeping around? WTF?

"With whom?" Harry asked.

"Anyone and everyone," Ron spat bitterly, hanging his head.

"Oh."

"And I know she knows about it. Everyone seems to. And yet they keep on coming – not in that sense! I mean, going out with me, for the evening or whatever. I don't understand it."

"Maybe you're just good in bed Ron!" suggested Harry. Ron shook his had.

"Nah, I doubt it."

"Okay, if you say so," Harry said. "But Ron, if you like her, tell her. And explain to her that it wouldn't be that way with her. The thing about reputations is that they can be changed. This is the perfect time, Ron! It's a party! Speaking of which, lighten up! And let's go find some more people!" Ron nodded, his eyes still down.

Harry ignored him. He knew Ron would have a good time. Whether with Pansy or any of the other people who liked him. Especially if he got drunk as it seemed he was intending to do.

Harry wandered back to the pool room. People were staring at in awe. Seamus was among them. Harry hailed him from across the room.

"Hey Har!" Seamus replied. "Isn't this amazing?"

"There's more!" Harry cried.

"Really?" Seamus asked, eyes wide.

"Two more rooms."

"Wow!" Seamus hurried across the room, as did most of the other people. Harry showed them the wheel room and the bar. Then they all hurried off to tell everyone else.

Eventually, the whole of the top two years were down, mingling in their special rooms, most with a drink in their hand. The house elves did not care about their age, but served them whatever they wanted. Harry was on his third fire-whisky by the time he found Draco. His head was slightly fuzzy.

"Draco! Hey! What's up?"

"Hey, Harry, I'm okay. These rooms are awesome!" He turned to the bar. "Skywalker please."

"Sky what now?" Harry asked.

"A Skywalker. Vodka and sprite. Muggle drink," Draco said, taking his drink.

"Oh… Any good?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Hmm. I might have one then," Harry said and asked Dobby for one. The house elf poured the drink and handed it to Harry. Harry tried it. It wasn't half bad. Better than fire-whisky at any rate! At least it didn't burn as it went down… And boy did it go down fast!

Soon both Harry and Draco were staggering slightly, and getting a bit tired of Skywalkers. So they went onto Screwdrivers and decided to wander around a bit.

People were really starting to party now. Seamus had lost his shirt somewhere and was running around the wheel room trying to get people to play Never Have I Ever. Neville was repeatedly going down the waterslide in the pool room. Ron was dancing like a maniac with Pansy in the dance room. Harry smiled at this. Good for Ron. Draco looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"Why?" he asked Harry.

"Why what?"

"Why can they dance like that, and we can't?"

"Because, they're not us? And keeping our relationship a secret?"

"Damn. You're right. That's lame."

"What? That I'm right?"

"No. Well, yes, but no. The fact that we have to be a secret. I want to kiss you so bad right now." Harry glanced over at Draco. There was a small frown playing about his face at this predicament. Harry almost laughed, before realizing, Draco was right, and it wasn't funny!

"You know what," Harry said. "Screw that. We don't have to be a secret!" The vodka was talking for him a bit and he knew it. "We  _could_  just make out, right here, right now!"

"No!" Draco shook his head and almost fell over. Harry caught him and pulled him upright. "I have a plan. But it must be subtle. We have a secret affair."

"But we're already having one!" Harry pointed out.

"Shut up. I hadn't finished. And we slowly let it get leaked out… and THEN!" he was looking very smug now. "We come out!"

Harry nodded slowly, trying to process the plan. When the information finally clicked in his brain he said,

"Yes, but that doesn't solve our  _current_  predectament!" He amazed himself with the long word. (A/N meant to be predicament)

"Damn. You're right. Again!"

"Don't sound so shocked," Harry said, half heartedly hitting Draco on the shoulder.

"Well, er, I HAVE ANOTHER PLAN!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes." Draco said, attempting to stand up straight and look gallantly, but failing completely. Instead he looked a bit unsteady on his feet and half blind. "We can go make out on a flying carpet!" He grabbed Harry's hand and led him to the flying carpet room.

A carpet was waiting for them at the docking station. It was blue with red blobs on it, or at least that was how it appeared to the boys. They climbed carefully onto it and ordered it to hover as high as possible, above all the others. It did so and they fell gratefully into each other's arms, faces pressed together in a fiery kiss.

Little did they know that someone could see them…


	31. Chapter 31

Colin Creevey's eyes grew wide. Was he really seeing what he thought he was seeing? Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy making out on a flying rug? He shook his head. They were still there. He blinked really hard. Nope, still there. He even tried pinching himself but to no avail. The two boys were indeed making out on the rug… and even! Was that groping each other?!

But weren't they just friends?

Or were they? They had made out in front of the whole school the day they announced that they were friends… Hmmm. Maybe they were lovers. But secretly! That would explain why they were up here away from everyone…

Colin sighed. It was none of his business, even though he  _was_  President of the Harry Potter Fan Club and technically supposed to tell club members anything he knew about Harry. But he couldn't tell this. It was Harry's secret. Not his. He wasn't supposed to know about it.

Whoa! Were they feeling up each other's shirts – okay, no shirts at all!

Colin decided he had better get away before things became more R rated.

…..

Harry and Draco were oblivious to the fact that they had had a watcher. They were reveling in the fact that Harry's scar hadn't kicked in to stop the fun.

They were too drunk to even speculate why this might be. They were also too drunk to care.

…

Ron sighed. He was laying in Pansy's arms on one of the bean bags in the wheel room. He felt content at last. He didn't have to sneak around, screwing random people anymore. He had her. He'd taken Harry's advice and told her how he felt and how it would be different. She'd said she didn't care about his reputation, and now here they were. And yet, Ron didn't want to take it any further just then. Always a good sign.

This was not to say that he didn't want  _anything to happen ever_. But just to wait and make it more special. A relationship instead of just sex.

…

Hermione looked up. Blaise was standing in front of her.

"Come and dance!" he said, enthusiastically, his eyes shining. She smiled and took the hand he was offering her.

"Okay," she said, smiling. He led her to the dance room and they began to dance.

….

"Mmph."

"What?"

"Not here."

"Whaddya mean not here? No one can see."

"In case one of us falls off."

"It's gonna be that wild?"

"Oh hell yes."

Pause.

"Right. My room then?"

"You have a room?"

"Er… yes?"

"Why?"

"Daddy."

Another pause.

"Oh. That."

"Yes. But come on. Let's go."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Put your shirt back on."

"Oh. Yeah."

….

Ron frowned. This wasn't supposed to happen! She wasn't supposed to try and take him in the corner! She was meant to be… well… less forward.

But then… she  _was_  a Slytherin. He'd heard rumors of their… kinks. But in front of people? On a bean bag pretending to be shrubbery? In a room that looked like a Fairy Forrest?

He shook his head and pushed her off of him. No. Not in public like this. He tried to explain this to her, but she wasn't having any of it. She stormed off.

Ron slumped. Alone again.

And then she was back. Her head was down.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I got carried away."

"It's okay," Ron assured her.

"No it's not! You're going to think I'm a whore now! Or something!"

"Ha. Me? That would be like the pot calling the kettle black!" She frowned. Maybe the old saying wasn't penetrating the alcohol. "It would be… hypocritical of me." She nodded slowly.

"Oh yeah. You said earlier about something like that…" She frowned. "Was that before I was drunk?" Ron's heart plummeted slightly.

"I don't know."

"Oh well!" she cried. "Let's go to my room!"

"You have your own room?"

"No! I meant… my dorm! But… I know a locking spell for the curtains!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

Part of him was screaming at himself to stop, but the closer they got to the Slytherin dorms, the smaller and smaller that part became…

…..

Colin sighed. He wished more people like him. People always seemed to think he was just that kid on the side with the camera. And here he was. As usual. Sitting on the side. This time of the dance floor.

He fiddled idly with the drink in his hands. He didn't really want it. It tasted of cough medicine.

He glanced sideways and noticed another lone figure sitting on the side of the dance floor. He stood up. It was time to do something about this loneliness.

…..

"Nice room."

"Thanks. Get your shirt off."

"Only if you do!"

"Fine."

There was the rustle of clothing. Two shirts fell to the floor. The bodies sprang together. Mouths pressed together. Tongues collided. Hands wandered and tried to unzip zips. There was lots of fumbling.

"Mmph. Your bloody zip is stuck!"

"S'not my fault Potter."

"Back to last names is it Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's a rubbish reason."

"Just shut up and kiss me."

Mouth pressed back together, zips forgotten, but not for long. Tugging ensued.

"Potter! Be careful with my bloody trousers will you?"

"But the zip's broken!"

"So bloody fix it."

"What? No! You fix it!"

"You fix it, or no sex tonight." Shocked silence.

"Fine. I won't then." A pause.

"Fine I'll fix the bloody zip, Potter."

"Ha ha. Someone's desperate!"

"Shut up! You would be too if your boyfriend had a bloody scar."

"My boyfriend does have a bloody scar. It's on your back."

"I meant the one on your head."

"Oh yeah. That."

"Yes… that."

"I wonder why it's not hurting…"

"I don't. I don't care. I'm too busy trying to fuck you."

"Oh yes."

"Speaking of which…" Trousers came off of the blonde and fell to the floor. The brunette's were quick to follow. They fell onto the bed. Hands roaming, searching, finding. Flipping over, fighting over who will be on top.

"I'm the dominant one!"

"Ha. Yeah right, Potter!"

"Shut up. I'm so more powerful than you!"

"Nah uh."

"Yeah huh."

"What, are you  _scared_  Potter?"

"You wish."

"Then let me be on top for once!"

"So you're admitting that I'm usually on top?" A sullen glare.

"Okay, fine. Yes, I am."

"Then you can have me tonight. For a change!" Draco pounces.

…..

Hermione's head was spinning, and not just from the alcohol or the spinning around the dance floor. Blaise was a very good dancer. He made dancing seem easy, even for her. All she had to do was follow him.

The dancing was infectious. He was infectious. His eyes… They were so… warm! He was so beautiful. So unattainable. It would be weird if anything happened. They lived in the same room. If they started going out it would be like they were a married couple. Almost.

It would be easy, though, to see each other. No sneaking around at night to different dorm rooms. But would he want that? She didn't know.

_He_  knew though. He knew she liked him. She tried to hide it but he could tell. He could see it in her eyes when she looked at him. It made him happy, because he liked her too. He just wished he had the courage to do something about it.

This was such an opportunity! Here they were, dancing, slightly tipsy… What a chance. But could he take the chance? He knew he should. He had to.

So he did.

…

Colin gulped quietly. She was too pretty for him to ask to dance. Heck, she'd won the prize for prettiest girl! In the school! He sighed and sat down next to her instead.

"Hi Colin," Ginny said.

"Hullo," he replied dully.

"How are you? Not dancing either?"

"Yep. I can't really dance."

"Oh come off it! Everyone can dance!"

"Yeah, well, everyone but me."

"I'll teach you if you like," she offered, looking at him with concern.

"Nah, it's alright. I'd only step on your feet," he replied, staring at the floor.

"My feet say they'll risk it," she said, standing up and taking his hands. He looked up, confusion.

"You actually want to dance  _with me_?" he asked, incredulous. She nodded, smiling.

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" He cocked his head to one side, then smiled slowly.

"Alright then." He stood up and she spun him away to the dance floor.

It wasn't as hard as he remembered it being. In fact it was quite easy, floating around the dance floor, spinning occasionally. To his right he could see Seamus dancing with Justin Finch-Fletchley, to his left, the Head Boy and Girl were… ahem busy… It seemed as though the rumors were true… They  _did_  like each other! How exciting! Should he report it? Or would it-

He was distracted at this point by Ginny's nose bumping into his. He snapped out of his reverie just in time to realize what was happening. The prettiest girl in school was trying to kiss  _him_! Well, he sure as hell wasn't complaining!


	32. Chapter 32

The next five weeks passed uneventfully. Colin asked Ginny out. Blaise asked Hermione out. Pansy and Ron sort of fell into a relationship. (Oh and Justin Finch-Fletchley kept mysteriously ending up in the Gryffindor Tower…  _Seamus_!) Harry and Draco still kept their relationship a secret.

Of course Harry and Draco didn't know that Colin knew and then because of that, Ginny knew, and then so Ron knew, but that of course meant Pansy knew, who in turn told Blaise and so Hermione of course found out from him. But no one said anything about it. What was there to say? If they wanted it to be a secret, then let them keep it a secret.

Defense Against the Dark Arts with Prof Hoff was getting more exciting by the lesson. They had finished learning about Voldemort's history and were starting on his Rise to Power.

They learned about how he collected followers from here and there, mostly from his old Slytherin friends and their connections.

They learned about how he murdered his father and father's parents. They learned about how his Reign of Terror began, and of course, how it ended. The full details, including how Sirius was innocent.

Draco was unsurprised by this… He knew most of the Death Eaters and Black wasn't one of them. The next lesson was to be about the Death Eaters and what they had to do for Voldemort.

Draco was excited. More and more they were invited to share their own knowledge with the class, and next lesson, he would have a hell of a lot to share! But he wanted to. He wanted people to know what he'd been through… What things were really like with Freak. (He'd started calling Voldemort that in his head recently. He thought it had a nice ring to it.)

Harry found these lessons interesting and useful, and he'd given a lot of input to them. Prof Hoff was a great teacher. He enjoyed these lessons much more than any of his others. It seemed that everyone did. But Harry did more than others. It was the one lesson where he could take his mind off of the sickness he'd been having recently. He'd been to Pomfrey, but she said he didn't have the flu. She didn't know what it could be. She'd checked him over with several spells, and eventually they'd decided it was stress.

The good news though, was that his scar had stopped hurting since the party. The  _other_  good news was that his friends had all become closer to Draco's friends thanks to the communal common room. (and thanks to the fact that most of them were now dating each other.)

They had all spent many an enjoyable evening together, playing games, doing homework, or just hanging out. Blaise was the only one who dared play Ron at chess. It turned out he was almost as good as the redhead - he even beat Ron occasionally. At the same time, Hermione and Pansy would battle it out in Monopoly games that would last for days. (They would charm the pieces not to move until they came back the next day.)

Harry, Draco, Ginny, Colin, who had now become a major part of their group, Seamus, Justin, who had also begun to hang around with them, Neville and Dean on the other hand played whatever and in whatever combinations took their fancy at the time. The other four would join them too sometimes, but mostly they stuck to chess and Monopoly.

They occasionally ventured to the downstairs section for swimming, or, on the weekends, for a drink, or two, or three… There were also Flying Carpet Races, which were particularly fierce between Harry and Draco, and dance offs, mainly between Neville and Colin who had a natural affinity for dance or so he had discovered.

It was a happy time for Harry. He remembered why he loved school so much. It was relatively stress free and it was  _fun_. He had friends who cared about him, and a boyfriend, who, he hoped, loved him. He knew Draco at least  _liked_  him. He wasn't sure how he felt about Draco. He supposed he did love him, but maybe it was too soon to tell. They hadn't been going out for long to be honest. But they spent a lot of time together, which made up slightly for that.

Draco was very supportive of Harry's sickness. He couldn't figure out what it could possibly be either. It wasn't all day, just to add to the confusion. It usually went away around lunch time, which was good as Draco worried that Harry would start losing weight if he threw up all of his meals. He made Harry eat extra at lunch and dinner to make up for breakfast, or lack thereof. Harry didn't seem to mind. He ate voraciously, devouring whatever Draco made him eat, and then some. He didn't know why. He was just hungry.

…..

The day of the Death Eater DADA lesson finally arrived, much to the delight of Draco. It was his chance to show the students why Freak was so evil. And weird.

He sat down in the classroom in his usual spot, next to Harry, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the Hoff. He glanced over at Harry. The boy was green.

"Har, are you okay?" he asked.

"Mmfine," Harry replied, keeping his eyes glued to the top of the desk.

"Are you sure?" He put a hand on the brunette's shoulder. Harry nodded. Draco frowned and squeezed Harry's shoulder before taking his hand away. He was about to say something more reassuring when the Hoff walked into the classroom.

"Pens and paper at the ready!" he cried. "Today we're learning about Death Eaters, and we have some insider knowledge!" He winked at Draco who half smiled back. The class scrambled to get their quills and parchment out. Harry looked up and got his quill ready. He was prepared. He needed to be. This information could save his life one day.

"Right," said the Hoff when everyone was ready. "Death Eaters, as we all know, are Voldemort's followers." Scribble scribble. "They are hooded and masked when in public, but obviously, they're not when they're alone. On their own, they look just like me and you, apart from the Dark Mark on their arm." More frantic note taking. "Can anyone name a Death Eater you've heard of?" A forest of hands shot up.

"Draco," someone said. Draco nodded.

"Yeah, but I'm a good one," he protested. The class laughed.

"MacNair. That executioner for the Ministry."

"Draco's dad." Draco nodded again.

"Yeah, and my mum. But they're all right really."

"Crabbe."

"Which one?"

"Both! Senior and Junior."

"Goyle senior."

"Peter Pettigrew," Harry said in a steely voice. The class fell silent. They knew about him and what he'd done to Harry's parents. Neville was next to speak.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," he said quietly. The class was silent again. They'd heard the story of Neville's parents. Someone reached over and squeezed Neville's hand.

"Professor Snape."

"Yeah, but he's a good one too."

"Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang."

"That's good class. I hope you've noted them all down." Various people nodded. "Of course there are many more, but we're not going to name them all. We're not here to learn all the names of the Death Eaters. We're here to learn what they're like and what they do. And we're lucky to have Draco here to tell us that. Of course by doing this he is risking his life."

"I am?" Draco asked.

"Well, if the Dark Lord knew you were talking about this, I'm sure he wouldn't be very pleased, would he?"

"No. That's a good point. But I don't mind risking my life. People need to know about Freak."

"Freak?"

"Er, that's my name for him." Draco said, going red.

"Who? Voldemort?"

"Yeah." A few people laughed. "What? He  _is_  a freak! Just ask Harry!" Everyone looked at Harry who nodded.

"He really is," he said. "And a bloody annoying one at that. Sorry professor."

"It's okay, Harry. I don't mind profanities in my classroom," Prof Hoff said, laughing. "Anyhow, Draco, if you don't mind, would you enlighten us into the lives of the Death Eaters." Draco nodded.

"It's hell," he said. Several people half laughed. Harry lifted his head and glared around the classroom. The laughing stopped. "In all seriousness,  _it is hell_. If you survive the training, the life you then live is one you really don't want, except if you don't live it, you die.

"Now, let me start with the training. The first thing you have to do is travel back in time and participate in a gladiator fight." He shuddered as the memory washed over him. No one else moved. "Uh, yes. This is to get over the fear of killing as it's to save your own life. Yes, I am ashamed to say I've killed men. Five of them, for my training." Several people averted their eyes. "It was them or me. And I'm still haunted by the nightmares. I didn't want this. I know you all heard why I took the mark."

Harry looked away, full of shame.

"But I don't resent you Harry! I would do it all again to keep you safe!" He stopped there, realizing he'd probably given away something about their relationship. He didn't care though. He needed Harry to know. The rest of the class didn't seem to notice anyway. Well, the ones who secretly knew noticed, but they knew so it didn't matter anyway.

Harry looked up at him, tears shining. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," Draco said. Harry smiled. Draco nodded once and continued with his talk. "Yes, so. Gladiator training. Then you get pole dancing training. Yes, that's right. Pole dancing training. I told you he was a sick freak didn't I? Yes, well, apparently I'm damn good at it naturally, so that wasn't too bad." He grinned. People laughed. "Yeah, it's because Voldemort owns a club and in this club, as part of their duty, the Death Eaters are forced to dance for him. And yes, that does sometimes mean cross-dressing. Oh stop gawking at me like that! It's weird. I know. But he's motherfucking P-I-M-P." Everyone laughed.

"But I thought his mother was dead…" Neville said quietly, after a moment. Everyone laughed again, even Prof Hoff.

The lesson continued in this fashion and almost too soon it was over. Harry wished it could have gone on for longer. It really helped distract his mind from his churning stomach, which was more than any of his other classes could do.

He stood up and stretched, his shirt rising up a bit, exposing his stomach.

"Hey Har, you'd better stop eating so much!" Ron joked from his left. "You're starting to get a little tubby! We might have to kick you off as seeker!" Harry frowned. He was getting fat? What? But he was ill!

"Ooh! Can I take his place?" Draco asked eagerly.

"What and play for Gryffindor?" Ron asked, incredulous.

"Yeah! Oh wait. NO!" Harry laughed at the look on Draco's face. His stomach twinged and he stopped. Draco looked at him with concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Fine." Harry replied, grimacing.

"Harry! What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"My illness."

"Oh. You still have it? Go back to Pomfrey! There's got to be some explanation for it, mate. It's been like a month now… or more…" Ron frowned.

"Have you had an ultrasound Harry?" asked Hermione who had been listening to the whole conversation.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Muggle thing to see inside people." Draco said. He'd learned about them from his Friends moving picture books.

"Oh."

"Well, have you Harry?" Hermione asked again.

"No."

"Maybe you should. Come on, let's see if Pomfrey has one, or something like it," she said, taking his hand and helping him to his feet. Harry didn't complain. He was ashamed he hadn't thought of it sooner. Draco took his other hand as they walked out of the classroom. He wasn't letting his Harry out of his sight while Pomfrey used a Muggle machine on him!

Ron sighed and watched them go. He didn't really like the hospital wing.

…

Madame Pomfrey was tending to a First Year who had fallen down a flight of stairs when one of the stairs disappeared when Harry, Draco and Hermione arrived. She looked up as they entered.

"Still ill, Mr Potter?" she asked, frowning slightly. Harry nodded. "Go lie down on one of the beds while I finish up with Mr Cordiner." Harry nodded again and the three of them walked over to a bed. Harry lay down on it and Hermione and Draco perched on either side of him. They were still holding his hands. He gave them a small smile and they smiled back down at him. Draco squeezed the hand he was holding.

Presently, when Mr Cordiner was healed and sent away, Madame Pomfrey bustled over to them.

"What shall we try this time, Harry?" she asked.

"Well, we were thinking perhaps an ultrasound," Hermione said. Pomfrey looked at Hermione thoughtfully before nodding.

"That sounds like a good plan. We haven't tried it yet! Though I can't for the life of me think why we didn't try this sooner!" she cried before hurrying to her office.

She returned with a machine on a large trolley. Draco stared at it. He'd never seen one of these before! He started to wonder vaguely how it worked before he stopped himself mid thought. ' _It isn't a good idea to think about things you know absolutely nothing about. It just leaves you feeling confused._ '

Pomfrey pulled a screen around the bed and instructed Harry to take off his shirt. Draco felt a flash of possessiveness.  _He_ was the only one allowed to see Harry with no shirt on! ' _Although, she is only doing her job,_ ' he reasoned.

There was a slight bulge in Harry's stomach. Draco almost poked it and commented on how Harry was getting fat before he thought the better of it. Better just to let Madame Pomfrey get on with her work.

Indeed, he was being shooed out of the way by her as he was thinking about it!

Pomfrey switched the machine on and applied gel to the reader.

"This will be a bit cold," she said to Harry as she put it on his stomach. She moved it around for a minute or so before.

"Oh my. How… unexpected," she whispered.


	33. Chapter 33

"Unexpected? What do you mean, unexpected? What's unexpected?" Draco asked, his voice edging on panic.

"I think I need to talk to Mr Potter on his own for a second," Madame Pomfrey said and promptly ushered Draco and Hermione out from behind the curtain. Then she performed a silencing spell around the curtain.

"Mr Potter, have you… er… had sexual intercourse with a boy recently?" she asked once she was sure the silencing spell had taken effect. Harry went red and mumbled something inaudible. "I'll take that as a yes." She paused again and moved the ultrasound over his stomach again.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. He almost didn't want to know now.

"Now, don't get upset. But…" Harry prepared himself mentally. "You're pregnant."

"WHAT?" He had  _not_  been prepared for that one. Not even a little bit.

"I don't quite know why it's happened to be honest," she said, frowning. "I mean, it's not completely unheard of for male wizard to fall pregnant, but why the Elkas chose you, especially now, is beyond me."

"What do you mean? What are the Elkas? And why would or wouldn't they choose me?"

"Well, the Elkas are a subcategory of Korrigan. You know about Korrigans I assume?" Harry shook his head. "What? They didn't teach you about them in Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Uh, Madame Pomfrey, we had Hagrid as a teacher," Harry said.

"Oh, of course!" She laughed. "He wouldn't have cared too much for them I suppose. They're too pretty for him to take notice of.

"Well, a Korrigan is a female dwarf-like spirit. Korrigans have beautiful hair and red flashing eyes. They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed. Like sirens and mermaids, they sing and comb their long hair, and they haunt fountains and wells. They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do. Quite nasty really. Now, the Elkas are a special type of Korrigan. They are the clan leaders, and have the added ability of choosing which men are suitable to carry children."

"They think  _I'm_  suitable?" Harry asked. "Are they insane? I'm being stalked by an insane psycho freak who's trying to kill me! And they get me pregnant?! What the fuck?! …Uh… Sorry."

"It's okay. I can understand that you're upset. This  _is_  an unusual thing for a teenage boy to hear."

"Ha. No sh-kidding."

There was a pause, then,

"Do you have any idea who's baby it might be?" Madame Pomfrey asked. "You don't have to tell me of course," she added as Harry's eyes widened. "But I think it's only fair to let him know." Harry nodded.

"I  _will_  tell him, don't worry," Harry assured her. She smiled and there was another pause in the conversation.

"May I be so bold as to ask whether it is Mr Malfoy?" she asked suddenly.

"Why would you think that?" Harry retorted quickly, fearing the worst. Had they been found out?

"Well, this is the first time that Mr Malfoy has brought you to the hospital wing with an injury, well, that you haven't sustained from him, if you get my meaning!" she laughed. Harry frowned. The woman had a point there.

"But Madame Pomfrey, that's because we're friends now!" he protested, mentally praising himself on escaping that one.

"Yes, dear,  _friends_." She smiled. Not  _quite_  escaped. "It's okay. I won't tell anybody." Harry smiled but the frown stayed in his eyes. "You have my word. Though you really should tell to poor boy, you know! He seems worried sick about you." Harry nodded.

"I know. He deserves to know."

"Do you want to break the news to him now?" she asked after another pause where Harry stared intensely at the curtain to his left. "We can keep the silencing charm up around here if you like."

"That might be good," Harry said. A knot of worry curled around his stomach. How was he going to explain this? Hey loverboy! You know all that hot sex we've been having? Yeah? Well, it got me pregnant. Yeah, even though I'm a boy.”

"Do you want to see the baby first?" Madame Pomfrey asked, peering gently down at him and interrupting his reverie. He nodded and she turned the ultrasounds screen around. A grey blurry image appeared on the screen. "There it is," she said, pointing to a blob in the middle of the grey. "See? There are its little hands and feet! With its little toesie wosies…" she trailed off, still gazing at the screen.

Harry coughed.

"Er, Madame Pomfrey?" Harry asked, tapping her arm. She quickly turned her head back to him.

"Yes?"

"Uh, can I see Draco now?" he asked.

"Of course. I'll just turn the machine off." She looked at the picture on the screen for another long moment before reaching over and pushing the power button. The screen blacked out and she removed the scanner from his stomach. Then she wiped the gel off and pushed the machine through the curtain and away, leaving Harry alone.

So. He was pregnant. Great. Why couldn't he ever have a  _normal_  life? No. He had to spend his time running away from Voldemort, Death Eaters, and the occasional Dementor! Not to mention being school champion, seeker and now Prefect! He sighed. To be fair, he could never complain of his life being boring. Although boring would probably be safer.

His thoughts were interrupted at this point by the arrival of a very worried blonde Slytherin.

"What is it?" Draco cried, hurrying to Harry's side and taking his hand. "Cancer? Cannibalistic intestines? A parasite?"

"No," Harry replied. "It's a baby."

"A baby what? Parasitic worm? No, you said it wasn't a parasite. Baby… oh god. Not a baby liver-stealer!"

"A what?" Harry asked, momentarily distracted.

"Well, they hatch from eggs inside of you, grow and then, steal bits of your liver!"

"Um. No." Harry said.

"Oh. What is it then?"

"It's a baby baby. As in a human. As in, I'mpregnantwithyourchild." He'd meant to say it slower, but it all came out at once.

"Say what?"

"I'm… pregnant with your child, Draco." Harry was staring at Draco's shoulder. He couldn't quite look him in the eye.

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah, that was my response too." Harry was staring at his hands now. They were suddenly very interesting. He had a hangnail on his thumb. Hmm.

"But… You're a boy!" Draco cried, waving his arms in the air.

"Yes, I know. But, apparently in the wizarding world, boys can get pregnant too!" he said in a mock cheerful voice, laden with sarcasm.

"Wait, you mean you were chosen by the Elkas?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. "That is  _damn_  cool!"

"It is?"

"Yeah! Totally. They only choose a few people. My Grandpa Levi is one. He's cool. His real name is Leviathan which is kind of ironic as he's really small." Draco laughed but stopped when he realized Harry wasn't.

"How is that ironic?" Harry asked.

"Well, a Leviathan is a big sea monster. As in  _huge_. The ones they used to draw on maps. Sea serpent things. Behemoths."

"Oh," said Harry.

"But anyway. Uh. What I was saying is that's cool that they've chosen you. Do you have any idea why?"

"Why they chose me? No clue," he said, sighing. "Why? Is there a way of asking them?"

"Yeah, you can summon them. I'm sure there's a book in the library with the spell. Just ask Pince. Alternatively, you could go wandering in the Forbidden Forest and hope one turns up." Harry laughed.

"Er…no. I might try the spell though."

"I thought you might say that." Harry smiled. "I'll go see if I can find the book for you while you break the news to Hermione. Or are you not going to tell her?"

"I should. I guess."

"Well, do what you want. I'm off to the library!" He kissed Harry quickly on the lips before hurrying away. Harry watched him go. It didn't seem so bad now. It was still ohmyfuckinggodIhaveababyinsideme. But it was better. He felt better. And at least now he knew what it was. That saved worrying about what the hell was wrong with him.

Hermione came in.

"Oh Harry, what is it? What's wrong with you? Is it what I think it is?" she asked, hurrying over to the bed and sitting down on the edge.

"That depends. What do you think it is?"

"Is it a baby?" She asked looking excited.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Well it was all the classic signs. Morning sickness. Bigger appetite. All that stuff."

"Even though I'm a boy?"

"Oh come on Harry. This is the  _magical_  world. Things don't always make scientific sense!" He laughed at that. It was true but the thought had never occurred to him before. None of magic made sense with science! (Except maybe a little bit of potions. But only some bits of the inorganic side of the course.) "And I'm assuming it's Draco's." Harry nodded.

"Wait. How did you-"

"Harry. All of us know you're seeing him. We just don't mention it because you want to keep it a secret and in which case it's none of our business."

"Oh… Wait. What do you mean ' _all of us_ '?" The whole school? All the Gryffindors?

"As in Ginny, Ron, Colin, Pansy, Blaise and me! Oh and of course Seamus. But you told him that, so yeah." She nodded in a matter of fact way.

"Oh… And you guys don't care?"

"Care? Why would we care? You like him. He likes you. What's the problem in that?" She asked, smiling kindly at him.

"Well, we used to hate him… I wasn't sure whether or not Ron was over that…" Harry trailed off. He was looking at his hands again, vaguely thinking about how pale they looked.

"Harry. Where have you been? Atlantis? We're pretty much  _all_  dating Slytherins. It wasn't only Draco we used to hate." Harry laughed nervously.

"Good point. We just didn't want everyone knowing. Because then somehow it would go to press. And then… I'm not sure how well the public would take it. ' _Boy-Who-Lived Going Out With Death Eater Boy_ '. Ooh yay. People will love me for that!" he said sarcastically. Hermione frowned at him.

"It's okay to want to keep things a secret, Har! Just don't feel you need to keep them from us. I mean, unless you want to. Just don't feel you  _have_  to."

"Thanks, 'Mione." She smiled at him.

"Do you know why the Elkas chose you?" she asked.

"No clue. But Draco's gone to get a spell from the library to summon them."

"Good plan."

"It was his idea," Harry said, smiling. "I really want to know why. I mean, I'm not in the best position to raise a child right now, what with being hunted by Voldemort!" he laughed.

"They'll have a reason," Hermione said in a matter of fact way. Harry smiled. "Anyhow. Shall we go eat lunch now? I mean, we know what's wrong now, right. You don't need to stick around here do you?"

"No. I'll go tell Pomfrey I'm leaving." Harry clambered out of the bed and put his shirt back on. Then he followed Hermione out from behind the curtain.

"I'm going," he said to the nurse who was standing by a window.

"Okay, Harry dear. Make sure you don't do anything too strenuous. I can write you a note for Quidditch if you like."

"No! I'll just play gently," he said, ignoring her concerned frown.

"Okay, Harry. If you need anything else, I'm always here."

"Thank you!" They left the hospital wing.

"Are you hungry?" Hermione asked. "Or still feeling sick?"

"Hungry," Harry said, grinning. "Bring on the food!"

…

Ron was relieved to see Harry enter the hall talking happily to Hermione. He was worried about his best friend. The poor guy had been so preoccupied with what was wrong with him. Hopefully Pomfrey had figured out what was wrong at last.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said, sitting down next to the redhead.

"Hey Har. You feeling better?"

"No, but we know what's wrong, so that helps."

"What is it?" Ron asked. Harry looked at Hermione who nodded.

"I'm pregnant."

There was a thud as Ron's head hit the table.

…

Madame Pince stared at Draco.

"You want to find a book on  _what_?" she asked.

"How to summon the Elkas," he said again.

"Oh, right! I thought you said a book on Sex Class. My poor ears aren't as young as they used to be…" she wandered away snapping at First Year's for whispering as she went. Draco stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether he should follow her or not. His fears were allayed however when Pince came back, carrying a smallish volume.

"Here you go, Mr Malfoy. Take good care of it. And sign here." She shoved the record book at him. He signed it quickly and hurried away with the book she had given him.

…..

Harry didn't get a chance to try the spell until the end of the day, busy with lessons as he was. But as soon as dinner was over, he hurried to his room with Draco, in order to perform it. Draco had insisted on coming as he was the father. Or, at least, the other father.

They inscribed the circle on the floor with chalk, set up and lit all the candles and put the burning incense in the centre. Then they held hands and chanted the spell seven times, eyes shut tight.

"Me a mecum ludit virginitas. Me a me detrudit simplicitas."

Harry opened his eyes. The circle was empty. He frowned.

"Maybe we did something-" he started to say, but stopped when a purple light filled the room and a wind blew through the room, extinguishing the candles. The Elkas had arrived – in style.

They were women, very beautiful women, and very small women too. They came up to about Harry's knee. They had pale blue skin and long blonde hair and were almost completely naked apart from some very well placed vines.

"What do you want?" one of them asked, shaking back her sheet of hair.

"Uh, I wanted to know why you chose me to get pregnant," Harry said, a little uncertainly.

"And you are?"

"Harry Potter." Another Elkas snapped her fingers and a clipboard appeared in front of her. She flipped through it.

"Harry Potter. Oh yes. Well, you have a horcrux inside you. And by giving birth to it, it goes out of you. That way, you don't have to die for the…" she paused and looked around, her eyes wide. "Dark Lord," she whispered, "to die." The Elkas chattered excitedly amongst themselves.

"Oh."

" _We_  thought it was very clever really!" another one giggled.

"Yeah, I 'spose it is," Harry said. "Er… Do I have to carry it to term?"

"Not if you don't want to. In fact, it's probably easier if you don't. Then you don't get… ah… emotionally attached to it."

"Right. Thanks."

"But you can have another baby whenever you want!" the first Elkas sang happily.

"He'll make pretty children won't he?" the second Elkas whispered to a peer and they giggled. Harry blushed. He wasn't sure whether or not he was supposed to have heard that.

"Anything else you want to know?" the third Elkas asked.

"No. Not really. Thanks," Harry said. He looked over at Draco who had retreated when the Elkas came and was now sitting in the corner. "You got any questions?" Draco shook his head.

"Well then, we'll be off. Come along girls!" There was a tinkle of music, another flash of purple and the Elkas were gone.

Harry stayed standing where he was for a moment, then went and joined Draco in the corner.

"Well, at least I know," he said heavily.

"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked, taking Harry's hand and squeezing it.

"Well, at least I know  _why_  and now, that… I don't have to carry it to term. This means no one will know. Apart from you, Ron and Hermione."

"And Colin, Seamus-"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. The world won't know," Draco said.

"Precisely." Harry nodded then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked.

"Pomfrey."

"What for?"

"An abortion."


	34. Chapter 34

"Harry," Pomfrey said, looking up from the sixth year Hufflepuff she was treating for concussion.

"Yeah, uh, hi… I uh… need to talk to you," he said, looking significantly down at his stomach.

"Right, I'll be right there. Please wait in my office. Mr Malfoy you may go with him." Both boys nodded and headed towards the closed door in the corner of the room which opened as they approached it.

Once inside, Harry sat on an armchair by the fire which was crackling in merrily in the grate. The door closed itself and Draco came over and sat on the arm of Harry's chair.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"I don't want to go through the pain only to give birth to a horcrux." He frowned as he said it. "How does male birth even work?" Draco shrugged.

"I dunno. I didn't exactly ask my dad about details of Great Grandfather Levi's labour period. I didn't really want to know." Harry smiled humorlessly.

"I'm quite glad I don't have to find out. At least not just yet. Maybe later, when it's an actual baby that I want."

"I'm sure there are books on it somewhere."

"I think I'll pass." They were interrupted at this point by Madame Pomfrey bustling in.

"Right then Harry. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Er… this is going to sound strange, but could we abort my child?" Whatever Pomfrey had been expecting, it was not this. She walked carefully over to the seat opposite Harry and sat down slowly, not once taking her eyes off of him.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," said Harry firmly.

"Could I possibly ask why? I mean, this is a very important decision to make."

"My baby is a horcrux."

"Oh." There was a pause. "What is a horcrux?" she asked.

"Uh. A way of keeping Voldemort alive," Harry said, as gently as he could. He knew it would be a shock.

"Oh."

"Yeah." They were interrupted at this point by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Pomfrey called, sounding relieved to have been rescued from the conversation. The door opened to reveal Dumbledore and a tall, dark stranger with a beard.

"Ah, Poppy, I was hoping to talk to Harry." Madame Pomfrey motioned for them to come in. "Ah, alone if that's alright."

"Oh! Right, of course!" she stood and left the room, her eyes wide. Dumbledore took her seat and conjured a char for the stranger.

"This, Harry, is Mr Braithwaite. Roy Braithwaite. He's an American Auror who has been working on the case of Voldemort for almost twenty five years now. He's been hunting down and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes from the time he knew they existed, which was seventeen years ago, when Voldemort didn't die. He believes you have found another one for him. The last one. Have you?" Harry nodded.

"Where is it, boy?" Roy asked, speaking for the first time. His voice was gravely and low.

"Inside me."

"Shit. That was a damn clever-"

"Wait! Let me explain!" Harry interrupted.

"Go on."

"I mean, I'm… er… pregnant with it. I was just here to get an abortion so we could kill it." Roy's face lit up.

"Clever boy! Did you… ah… do that," he pointed at Harry's stomach, "on purpose?"

"No, the Elkas did it."

"Heh. How clever of them. Well, that's a relief. It means I don't have to kill you or perform invasive surgery… the muggle way." Draco gasped. Harry almost laughed. He had half forgotten Draco was there.

"But you wouldn't kill me anyway, would you?" Harry asked nervously. "I mean, I have to kill Voldemort!"

"No you don't. That's for the Longbottom boy to do."

"What?" This was Draco again. "Neville? Kill Voldemort? Are you insane? The boy can hardly perform a summoning charm, let alone a killing curse!"

"Draco!" Harry shouted. "Don't say that about Neville! He's come a long way in the past few years! You just haven't noticed! He used to be one of the best students in the DA." Draco looked at his feet, ashamed.

"Thank you, Harry," Roy said. "Yes. Longbottom will be the one to kill the Dark Lord. But you must help him, Harry. You must distract the Dark Lord as he thinks you will be the one to kill him and it is you he fears. Fight him, and while you do, Longbottom can get him from behind. When the time comes at least." Harry nodded. "In the meantime. Let's get that baby out of you." He pulled out his wand. "Stupefy!" And Harry knew no more.

….

When he woke up again, he was in his room, with Ron peering at him concernedly.

"You okay mate?" he asked. Harry blinked groggily and sat up, swaying slightly. "Did you get drunk on fire whisky again?"

"No. I… had… an abortion." The words seemed to roll around in his mouth.

"Oh. Fair enough," Ron said. Harry blinked slowly.

"Just, oh fair enough?"

"Yeah. The pregnancy was the bit that scared me."

"Heh. You don't know the half of it. My baby was a horcrux."

"Damn."

"Yeah. But it's gone now. R-R-Ray? A man took it away. I can't remember his name. He was… not British. And important." Harry struggled to remember for a moment but soon gave up after realizing it was useless. "Oh never mind. He doesn't matter. All that matters is it's gone."

"Sounds like they gave you half a memory charm. Enough memory in order to not be freaked out, but not enough to remember details."

"Yeah," Harry said vaguely. He was still confused. He sighed and lay back down on the bed. "Ron, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure, what do you need?"

"Could you get Draco to come here?"

"Uh. I guess. But some of the other Gryffindors might not like seeing him in our common room…"

"Tell them I sent for him. They should be fine with that." Ron nodded.

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and hurried away.

Harry rolled over and groaned. His head hurt. Bloody memory thing. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the world. He snuggled down into his duvet, pulling it up to his ears and turning on his side. He shivered and hugged the comforter around him harder. He wanted Draco to be there, to warm him up. Well, Ron was fetching him. He'd be here soon.

And with that thought, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.

…

He was woken half an hour later by a rather irritated blonde pouncing on him.

"Mmmf," he said. "Ow. What was that for?"

"For dragging me out of my bed to come alllll the way here."

"Oh." Harry sat up. Draco was sitting on the side of his bed now.

"Yeah."

"Sorry," Harry said rather sheepishly.

"It's okay. Why did you want me?" Draco asked.

"Uh, to keep me company." He grinned. "Oh and so I could ask you what they did to me."

"Well, budge up then." Harry moved slightly to his left. "You don't mind, do you?" Draco asked the other Gryffindor boys.

"Nah, mate," Seamus said. "Just no sex." He grinned.

"I promise. There will be nothing of the sort. Just cuddling. Are we allowed to cuddle?"

"I think that can be allowed. And maybe a bit of suppressed flirtation, but nothing beyond that. No canoodling. Snuggling is okay though." Harry giggled, but Seamus kept a straight face while he was saying it.

"Right. I promise to obey those rules," Draco said and clambered into Harry's bed. Harry closed the curtains.

"This is really odd," Draco whispered.

"Yeah, I know. It is, isn't it? Very surreal," Harry agreed. "So, uh, what did they do to me?"

"I don't know. They knocked me out too."

"Bugger."

"Why?"

"Well, I was curious!"

"Hmm. Fair enough." Silence fell and they lay that way for a while, just staring up at the ceiling of the four poster bed.

"Draco," Harry said, breaking the silence. "Do you think he planned this?"

"Who, God?"

"No, silly, Voldemort! Well, not as in planned, but you know when I thought I'd killed him, he threatened to kill me. He must have known I was one of his horcruxes… He wouldn't have  _actually_  killed me, would he? And he just used me as bait to get you? Maybe?"

"Nah. I don't think Freak knows the others have been destroyed, so killing you wouldn't have mattered."

"Oh."

"It would have mattered to  _me_  of course! Which is why I went through all this, but I don't think it would have stopped him killing you."

"Damn. But wait!" Harry sat up, suddenly excited. "I have a plan!"

"A plan?"

"Of how to kill him!"

"A better plan than last time?"

"Yes. Much better." And Harry proceeded to tell the blonde the plan that had just come into his mind. 

"Harry, that's brilliant! I could bloody kiss you!" Draco said.

"No! Kissing is  _not allowed_ ," came Seamus's voice from the other side of the curtains. "But yes. Bloody good idea."

…

As it turned out, all the Gryffindor boys had been listening to their conversation, for no other reason than that they were bored and couldn't fall asleep. Neville was full of trepidation, but Ron, Seamus and Dean were all keen to help out. In fact Ron had gone so far as to get out a piece of parchment and a quill and had started writing ideas down on it. No one seemed to care that it was bed time any more. This was  _much_  more important than sleep.

"Where should we do it?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. My house? The grounds are big enough," Draco offered.

"Yeah!" cried Seamus, sitting up a little straighter. They were all sitting in a circle on the floor now, discussing ideas. "That would make sense, you've had Harry to your house before. We could all sneak in the back, if you gave us copies of the keys to the gate or something."

"Or we could dig under the fence with spoons!" Dean exclaimed.

"Uh. No. Shovels, maybe."

"We could fly over," suggested Ron.

"I don't have a broom," Neville said meekly. "My gran thinks I'll somehow kill myself with one."

"We could borrow one from the broom shed. I'm sure Dumbledore would let us," Ron said.

"I still don't see why I have to go," Neville said. "I could stay here, and wait for you guys! Make sure you don't get in trouble at school!" He nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh, Neville," Harry said gently. "I'm not sure how to break this to you, but… You are going to be the person who kills Voldemort."

"Me?" Neville's eyes were wide in his round face.

"It's in the prophecy."

"But… you're Harry Potter. You have to do it!"

"No, Neville. You do." Silence fell. All that could be heard were a few gasping breaths from Neville, everyone else was still.

"But I can't," he said after a while.

"Why not?" Draco asked, gently. "I don't see any reason why not. From what I've heard, you were one of the best wizards in Dumbledore's Army."

"Really Harry?"

"Yes." There was another long silence where Neville nervously twisted the sleeves of his pajamas in his hands.

"Okay. I'll try," he said at long last, sounding a lot braver than he felt. He was still unconvinced that he was the right person for the job. He could think of countless other people who were stronger or braver than him. But he supposed, if he had to do it, he would. And it didn't look like they were giving him any choice in the matter.

"So when should we do this thing?" Seamus asked. No one said anything. All of them looked at Harry who shrugged, eyes wide.

"Well, I guess I should ask Daddy when Freak will next be at the house," Draco said matter of factly. "And then we'll go from there."

"Right-o Draco," Dean said. Draco nodded curtly and the circle began to break up of its own accord as the boys drifted back to their respective beds, suddenly very tired. Draco followed Harry back to his bed.

"'Night you," he mumbled, pecking Harry lightly on the cheek as he lay beside him.

"G'night," Harry replied, putting an arm around Draco. And one by one, the boys in the Gryffindor Tower fell asleep, all still thinking about The Plan.


	35. Chapter 35

"What are you guys doing next weekend?" Draco asked the boys a few days later over a game of Team Scrabble. (He and Harry were winning through subtle methods of subterfuge).

"Why?" Seamus asked. "Is it time?" Neville made a sound that was a bit like a whimper which he tried to hide with a cough.

"Yes. It's Freak's birthday. So we're having a party. You're all invited."

"What really?" Harry asked.

"Well, yeah. I asked whether you guys could come, as my guests, and cause I'm a… well…" he lifted up his sleeve. The Dark Mark glared at them. "Yes, that. I can pull strings and bring guests. And I want you guys to come! Party time!"

"Not plan time?" asked Neville.

"Double party time. Party, then plan then MEGA PARTY because he will be GONE!" Draco stood up in his excitement.

"Shush and sit down," Harry whispered, tugging his sleeve. People were beginning to look around in interest at them.

"Uh. Yes." Draco sat down. "Who's turn was it?" he asked. Neville and Ron raised their hands. Neville started laying down tiles.

"U-L-A-D. Ulad? That's not a word!" Harry cried in outrage.

"Yes it is! The Ulad were an old Siberian tribe of warriors who unsuccessfully tried to take over the world in 1104 AD. Just ask Hermione!" Ron protested.

"Okay…" Harry said, still unconvinced, but he let it slide.

…

Later that night the Gryffindor boys and Draco sat again in their circle. It was time to solidify their plans and organize who was going to do what.

"Somehow we have to get him outside," Harry said.

"I can do that. I can tell him that I've arranged something special for him," Draco said.

"Or I could be a messenger and tell him you've arranged something and you're waiting for him," Suggested Seamus.

"What will you have prepared for him?" Neville asked.

"I don't know."

"You can have me tied up. You can say you're offering me to him as a sign of your loyalty."

"And that's when I strike!" cried Neville. Something had come over him. He was no longer timid. He didn't know why, but he supposed it was something to do with visiting his parents over the weekend. They'd inspired a fierce pride in him. He had to restore the family name, even if he was scared. He would have to face his fears.

Harry smiled. "That's right," he said. "That's when you strike."

"And then I bring out the champagne!" Ron grinned.

They talked about further details for another hour or so before finally going to bed. They were all excited and nervous, none more so than Neville who felt a new weight on his shoulders. It was the same burden Harry had carried for years; the hopes of the entire wizarding world. But Neville didn't know that.

….

The days leading up to "Party Time", as the boys had affectionately called it, slipped away rather quickly. Soon it was the Thursday evening before they were meant to leave. Harry was scared. He was basically a sacrifice, except he hopefully wouldn't be killed, and that thought scared him. But no. He must have faith in Neville, or else it wouldn't work.

The boys still hadn't revealed their plans to Hermione or Ginny yet. They were scared that they would worry. For this reason, Colin didn't know either as he was bound to tell Ginny. Blaise had been let in on the secret and was keen to help out. He'd been included only as of Tuesday, but they felt it was right. The more, the merrier.

They ate dinner together that Thursday night, and went through all the finalizations of the Plan. They were all feeling distinctly nervous now, not that any of them would admit it. Neville was the most stoic of all. He was working on mastering his fear. He would be brave, even if only because he needed to be.

…

The leaving school plan went off without a hitch. They left straight after school the next day and Side-Along Apparated to Draco's house. Blaise and Seamus were the only ones of the group who had passed their tests so far, so they had to go back and forth between just outside of Hogwarts, to just outside of the Malfoy Manor. Then they all hiked the mile or so to the Manor from there.

When they finally reached the door, none of them felt like partying. They were all tired from the trek.

"Draco, your house is obnoxious," Ron said. "These grounds are so unnecessary."

"Yeah, I know, I hate them myself," Draco replied. "But mum likes them. She says they make her feel more important." He rolled his eyes. "But we're here now!" They all smiled. "It's time to partay!"

At this point he was interrupted by the front door opening behind him and he spun around to come face to face with Voldemort who was wearing a fluorescent pink pimp suit for the occasion, complete with pink tiger print hat.

"Boys!" he cried. "How good of you to come!" He was stinking drunk already, despite the fact that the party didn't start for another half an hour. Draco laughed nervously.

"Tom," he said, cold smile fixed in place on his face. "Happy Birthday. How old are you now?"

"21," Voldemort giggled. "Okay, 35, but don't tell anyone!" He ushered them inside. Dean was looking around with scared eyes. Neville was very pale. Seamus, however, was in his element.

"35? Never! You look  _much_  younger than that!" he said, his eyes wide and sincere. Voldemort giggled again.

"Oh, aren't you kind," he said. And giggled.

"Seamus," Draco said sharply. "Don't we have to go get changed now?" He stared pointedly at the Irish boy.

"Oh. Yes.  _That_ ," Seamus said. "I've got to go make myself look beautiful!" he winked at no one in particular. Voldemort giggled again.

Neville grabbed Seamus's hand and dragged him away.

…..

Ten minutes later, they returned, resplendent in their party outfits. Harry was wearing a black dress shirt with one too many buttons open, and tight black trousers. Draco thought he looked a bit like a pirate. But in a good way. Draco himself was wearing his short shorts and a tight fitting tee shirt as he was in Death Eater Club Uniform. Seamus was wearing a green sequined shirt with tight jeans and sparkling green shoes. Neville was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, but he had jazzed it up with a tweed jacket and a newsboy cap. Dean was wearing black on black like Harry, only instead of an open necked shirt, he had a sleeveless turtleneck and had boots on. Blaise was in a lazy tux: bowtie undone, a few shirt buttons undone. Ron was in a royal blue tee shirt and black cords with a white blazer over the top. In short, they were ready to party. But at the same time, each of them had their wand hidden on their person, either up their sleeve or, in Dean's case, in their boots. The only one not carrying their own wand was Draco who had no place to hide it and so had given it to Harry.

The party was in full swing now. Seamus was psyching himself up in the corner. He knew what he had to do. He and Blaise were to create a distraction. Well, he was good at things like that, wasn't he? Yes. Right. Let's go.

The music was playing loudly. All he had to do was dance. And dance he did. ' _One, two, three, four, let me hear you scream if you want some more! Like aaaah, push it, push it! Watch me work it! I'm perfect!_ ' Hand movements first, counting up. Then hands up in a mock scream. Bring them down to show off your ass. Push it away with the hands twice. Flourish. Pose. Repeat. Then make the bread. Stir it, knead it, in the oven… Next move: dance over to the Dark Lord and give him the message.

"Hey there, sexy," he said, as he neared Freak. He arched his eyebrow seductively. Voldemort giggled. He was really very drunk. "I have a message for the Birthday Boy." He grinned.

"Who? Me?" Tom asked.

"Who else?" Voldemort giggled again. Seamus was getting tired of this giggling. "Draco, Blaise and I cooked up a nice birthday treat for you."

"Ooh! What is it?"

"A surprise. Come see it." He leaned in close to the ugly snake face, grabbed his tie and dragged him out of the door.

Blaise meanwhile was distracting the rest of the guests with a strip tease. By the time he reached his underwear, Voldemort and Seamus were nowhere to be found, and he put his clothes hurriedly back on, much to the displeasure of the crowd. They were too drunk to notice the disappearance of the Birthday Boy, and if they did notice, they thought he was just having some "fun" elsewhere. That part of the plan had worked.

…..

Draco was in the rose garden. He could hear Harry calling out for him. His heart was racing. He had hated tying Harry up, but he'd had to! But what if he got hurt? It was just meant to be a distraction. Harry still needed Draco. He shouldn't have left Harry. He cursed himself. He ran through the rose bushes, wincing as the thorns tore at his arms, face and clothes. He could take the pain. He was scared. He was drowning in the fear, still fighting through the rose bushes. He was bleeding now. Blood running down his arms, his face. He could still hear Harry's cries. He was getting closer.

He pulled out his wand and killed all the rose bushes, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner. Harry was tied to the rock where he'd left him, arms and legs spread-eagled. MacNair was standing over him. Draco now knew why Harry had been crying out. Harry's clothes were ripped and bloody. There was a nasty bruise on his cheek and cuts on his face and exposed chest. He was struggling with his bonds, but that only caused the ropes binding him to cut into his wrists and ankles. Draco pulled out his wand and shouted Avada Kedavra at MacNair. His Death Eater training paid off for the first time as the older man crumpled to the floor.

"No!" Harry yelled at him. His voice was hoarse from screaming. "You can't do this. They'll kill you! Get away. Go!" His heart ached. Harry wanted to protect him. But it was Harry that needed the protection. He couldn't just leave him.

"No. I'm staying with you. Look what happened when I went away." Harry shook his head.

"I can deal with that. Please…” Harry begged. "I would rather die than have them harm you." A tear trickled down his face. "They'll call you a deserter… and you know what they do to deserters…” Another tear fell.

"Fine, well, I'll hide nearby then." He flounced off, dragging the prone figure of MacNair with him. And just in time too! Draco had hardly hidden MacNair's body in a bush when Voldemort burst into the clearing with Seamus in tow.

"Tada!" Seamus said, spreading his arms wide.

"Tada, what?" Voldemort asked, clearly still very inebriated. Seamus motioned to the still figure of Harry on the rock. "Oh! WOW! Guys, I don't know how to thank you!" He leaned over and hugged Seamus clumsily, attempting to kiss him.

"Uh. Don't you want to kill him?" Seamus asked.

"Later."

"But he might wake up!"

"But he's tied up. And you're pretty." Voldemort latched onto Seamus even more tightly. Where the hell was Neville?

"Why not make it a threesome?" Draco called and stepped out from his hiding place. He didn't want Seamus to get raped.

"With those shorts? Hell yes," Voldemort said, looking Draco up and down hungrily. Draco barely suppressed his shudder.

"Can I be the dominant one?" Draco asked, then widened his eyes as if just thinking of a better plan. "I know! Let's have some fun with this! I'll tie both of you up, together, and have my wicked way with both of you." He nodded, his eyes gleaming, a small smirk on his face. Seamus nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds hot. Take me in the bushes baby!"

"And me!" Voldemort said eagerly. If Seamus was willing, he was willing because that boy was a hot piece of ass. He held out his hands and Draco shook his head.

"Behind your back, wench." Freak complied and soon Draco had tied Voldemort up to Seamus. Now came the hard part. Neville  _still_  hadn't arrived. Draco mentally took a deep breath, then kissed Seamus. He couldn't face Freak. Hopefully the distraction would last long enough for Longbottom to get his lazy arse over there and kill the third person in the  _World's Most Awkward Threesome_  TM.

….

Neville was scared. A better word would have been petrified, but his terror was making it hard for him to think. He was watching the scene from behind a tree, willing himself to go in and do what he had to. He didn't know why he was scared now. He'd spent all of the time leading up to this moment, preparing himself mentally, yet there he was, cowering behind a tree. No. He had to do it. They were running out of distractions. Even Draco was helping out! This was bad.

He took a step forward. Then another one. No one noticed. Draco was now kissing Seamus. He had to hurry up. Harry would be angry about this. He pulled the knife out of his belt. He knew Avada Kedavra wouldn't work for him. He'd tried it on flies, but they'd only passed out for a few seconds. He would do it the Muggle way.

He held the knife in front of himself and crept forward. He was now inches away from Voldemort. This was it. He took a deep breath and –

…..

A shrill scream rent the night air. Flocks of birds took to the sky as if they were from a John Woo film. And it was all over.

Neville sat down hard on the ground. Beside him lay the prone figure of the Dark Lord formerly known as Voldemort. Time of death: 9:28pm. Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. Kitchen knife. Messy yet effective.

Seamus lay and looked at the stars. He was still attached to Voldemort and no one had noticed yet, so he just lay where he was and tried to find Hercules in the night sky. Or maybe the Giant Dipper, that was easier.

Draco was cradling Harry in his arms, and untying the Boy Wonder. He was muttering sorry under his breath every few seconds.

Blaise came out from behind the tree where he was crouched. He had hurried over as soon as his dance was over. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Eventually, he noticed Seamus and helped untie the Irishman. 

Dean came and stood next to Blaise and Seamus. He was in shock. He couldn't believe it was over. He hadn't really done much either, only rescued Blaise from the crowd who wanted more of Blaise's clothes off by pretending they were going out. He really hoped that wouldn't get back to Hermione.

Harry was unconscious and no one knew why. Draco was starting to panic.

"Harry," he said. "It's safe to wake up now. Freak is dead. It's over." He shook the brunette by the shoulders. No change. "Damn it, enervate!" Still nothing.

"What's wrong with Harry?" Ron had arrived. He was panting, having run from the Manor. His job was over. He'd been given the task of distracting the host. Lucius Malfoy was right now still wandering around his personal portrait gallery, still thinking that the red headed boy was there too. It was a big room. The boy was probably behind a pillar.

"He won't wake up," Draco cried. "Enervate! Enervate!"

"Draco, stop," Neville said, stepping forward. "You're too emotional right now. Enervate." He pointed his wand at Harry and sure enough, Harry's eyes opened.

"What happened?" he asked, sitting up.

"Freak died. Yay!" Neville said, grinning and attempting to dance. It was more of a foot shuffle with a random arm movement than a dance, but it was the thought that counted.

"So it's party time?" Harry asked.

"Hell yes," Seamus said. "Let's get back to the main affair." He leaned over and helped Harry to his feet. Draco shot him a glare which faltered as Seamus helped him up as well.

"Should we bring him?" Harry asked, pointing at the prone figure of the Dark Lord formerly known as Voldemort. Technically, he was now a John Doe, as he was carrying no form of identification, although, it was difficult _not_  to know who he was. The pink pimp suit gave it away.

"Why? Harry do you have a death wish? Walk into a room of Death Eaters with their  _dead_  ex Master? Ya-NO." Harry shrugged and began heading back to the Manor.

When they arrived, the party was still in full swing. The strippers had arrived and  _still_  no one had noticed the disappearance of their Great and Wonderful Leader. They all thought that he was probably "just coming", in both senses of the phrase. So the liquor still flowed and the music still played.

No one had noticed MacNair's disappearance either. He wasn't one for parties.

They did however notice the reappearance of the boys. Big cheers went up as they entered the room. The hot manflesh was back. They hoped perhaps Blaise might strip again.

….

Thirty minutes later Harry and Draco were both considerably less sober than they were in the clearing. Harry was dancing with Seamus, not realizing he was Seamus and Draco was dancing with himself. He dimly noticed Harry with the other boy, but didn't think much of it. He was too inebriated for that.

He did however notice the pangs of jealousy. That was  _his_  Harry. What was he doing dancing with the McFinnegan? McFinnegan should go dance with McThomas and leave Draco to his McPotter. Draco mentally berated himself for watching too much Grey's Anatomy. If he wasn't careful, he might start calling Potter McDreamy by mistake. Which would be strange as Derek Shepherd didn't wear glasses.

Draco stumbled over to Harry and Seamus.

"Can I cut in?" he asked. "Seamus, I hate to say it, but McDreamy is mine." Seamus raised an eyebrow at McDreamy but meandered over to Dean instead.

"McDreamy?" Harry asked. Draco nodded.

"You weren't supposed to hear that. It was meant to stay in my head."

"Whatever. You can be McSteamy, and we can go have some McSex in your McBedroom."

"Oh really?"

"Ya really."

"When?"

" _Now_."


	36. Chapter 36

Nineteen Years Later (okay, not really) –

Twelve Hours Later

"Wait, so you're telling me that he's dead?"

"Yes. Dead. Gone. Finished!" Harry punched the air triumphantly. Draco rolled his eyes.

They were in the Headmaster's office, recalling how they had defeated The Dark Lord Formerly Known As Frea- _Voldemort_.

"And Blaise gave a 'special performance' to distract the Death Eaters while Seamus kidnapped Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded. "What did he do?"

"Acted out a scene from Shakespeare, a monologue," Draco said.

"From Hamlet," Harry supplied.

"I see. The Death Eaters enjoy Shakespeare? I was under the impression they were just sex fiends." An awkward silence followed this statement.

"Okay, so it was a strip tease, but it worked!" Draco said, looking guilty. Dumbledore laughed.

"Ah, the truth," he said. Harry braced himself for a piece of wisdom. "It's just so much better than lies." Harry was slightly disappointed. Dumbledore's words of wisdom were usually… more intelligent than that.

"And then Neville killed him. Yay! The end." Harry and Draco stood quickly and turned to go.

"Boys…" They turned slowly back to face him.

"Okay, fine. So Seamus brought him over to where Harry was tied up, and sort of gave Harry to Freak as a present."

"Only before he could kill me, Neville killed him! Yay! The end." They turned to leave again.

"And so, what kept you there for the rest of the evening?"

"Partying with the Death Eaters. Free fire-whisky all round!" Harry explained, grinning shiftily.

"I see. One last question before you leave." They turned guiltily around again from where they had been trying to sneak out. Again. "Why wasn't I invited to this after party?" Dumbledore asked with that cheeky sparkle in his eye.

"We forgot."

"Sorry, sir."

"Won't happen again."

"No, sir. Won't happen again. Harry's right."

"Very well. You may go."

…..

"Phew! That was awkward." Harry said as they burst out of Dumbledore's office.

"Just a bit." Draco agreed, smirking slightly.

"A bit?"

"Sarcasm. You never get my sarcasm, Potter."

"God, I love it when you call me Potter. It sounds so… dirty."

"Oh really?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah really." Harry nodded.

"Did it always sound dirty?"

"No."

"Pity."

"Why?" They'd reached the bottom of the stairs by now. Harry turned to face Draco.

"Well, I've liked you secretly for years," Draco said, staring at his feet. He wasn't used to talking about feelings. It was making him awkward. And yet he had been the one to bring it up inadvertently.

"Which is why you were always mean to me?" Harry smirked.

"Yeah, it's called  _denial_. I was trying to convince myself I hated you. Only it failed. And here we are." Draco was staring at the wall over Harry's left shoulder.

"I feel like we should have had this conversation a while ago," Harry said.

"Well we're having it now, Potter!" Draco was cursing himself for bringing the subject up. His confession had left him feeling vulnerable. And Malfoys just don't  _do_  vulnerable.

"Stop calling me Potter or I'll have to slam you against a wall and kiss you!" Harry on the other hand was happy. Draco had liked him for a while! It made him want to break out in song and dance, only not really.

Draco liked this turn in the conversation. It meant Harry wasn't freaking out. "Go on then... Potter." Draco said, smirking as Harry pinned him against the wall.

"I liked you too. Just so you know. In denial and all that." And then he slammed his lips onto Draco's.

…..

When they reached the Gryffindor Common room a few –ahem- twenty minutes later, they were surprised to find it full of people in all house colors. A great cheer went up when they entered the room.

Neville, Dean, Seamus and Blaise were already being carried on shoulders. Harry and Draco soon joined them and then the mass of people carried them down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Harry shouted to Neville.

"Dumbledore announced that the rest of the day (and night) was for partying." Neville yelled back, grinning.

"Oh! Cool."

"Yeah, 'cause we have haven't just been doing that all of last night!" Seamus chimed in. Harry laughed and allowed himself to be swept on to the mixed common room.

…

The party was already in full swing by the time they got there. Fred and George had snuck back into Hogwarts and were plying people with fire-whisky.

Dobby had recruited several more elves to help him at the bar and they were all running up and down the bar, trying to meet the demands of the many students.

Most people were tipsy within the hour of The Heroes' arrival. Some were downright smashed. Everyone one, however, was happy. There was no more fear; no more worry. The great oppressor was gone. And so it was Happy Hour in both senses of the meaning. Only it went on for much longer than an hour.

Years later the students would still talk about that party. It was the best party anyone had ever been to. The spontaneity, the joy, the free alcohol. They all added up to a damn good time. Even the teachers joined in the merriment.

Flitwick was first to join the party, pretending to be a particularly small sixth year. Then Sinistra wandered down, just to check on the students. Snape, surprisingly, was the next after accidentally taking a wrong turn on his way to – well, he hadn't thought that far. McGonnagal and Sprout wandered down, pretending to look for Flitwick and before the students could take stock of the situation, all the teachers had joined the party.

Halfway through the night, Harry found himself on the dance floor, drinking a Skywalker and dancing with Draco.

"Hey there, lover boy," he said, swinging his spare arm onto Draco's shoulder.

"Hi," Draco replied, smirking and dancing in towards Harry. "What's on your mind?"

"You."

"Awww, you adorable Hufflepuff you!" Draco pinched Harry's cheek. Harry frowned.

"Shuddup."

"No." Draco winked.

"Fine. I was thinking about the end of school, and what's gonna happen then…" Harry trailed off, looking dejected.

"And me?" Draco asked.

"Yes, and you."

"As in, what's going to happen to us?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm… I need to get you more drunk. No more  _thinking_  tonight. Well, unless it's about me. And  _only_  me. None of this, leaving school palaver." Draco took Harry's hand off of his shoulder and used it to spin the brunette around and push him off the dance floor in the direction of the bar.

…

The next morning was chaotic. No one was in their right dorm room, or bed. Most were asleep in the party room. Flitwick was curled up at the feet of a suit of armor. Sinistra was in the kitchen, presumably she had fallen asleep there so that she could get food first thing in the morning to combat the hangover, but to be honest, she couldn't remember most of the night before. McGonnagal was asleep on a sofa next to the Weasley twins who had been trying to get her to buy some of their merchandise when they all fell asleep. Snape was in Las Vegas. He'd been chaperoning Harry and Draco who had decided to get married that night.

"Why are we here?" the black haired professor growled, staring at his two charges.

"We got married!" Draco said, his eyes suddenly gleaming with happiness. He held up his left hand and sure enough, a wedding band glinted there.

"Oh Christ." Snape put a hand up to his head. He had a killer hangover and dealing with these two early in the morning wasn't one of his favorite things to do at the best of times. "Why?"

"We're in love," Harry supplied.

"Since when?" Snape's mood was deteriorating with each word the two young men said.

"Uh, last summer?" Harry asked, looking at Draco.

"Yeah, last summer. Sort of."

"It's a long story. See, Draco-" Harry began.

"-Spare me," Snape interrupted, holding up the hand that wasn't massaging his temples. "And no-one knows?"

"A few people know," Harry said.

"Well, everyone will know now," Snape said, standing up suddenly.

"Not if we don't tell them they won't!" Harry protested. "And we'll obliviate you, so you won't tell any-"

"-QUIET!" bellowed Snape. Harry jumped backwards into Draco and they fell to the floor. Harry had to stuff his fist into his mouth to stop himself from giggling. Luckily, Snape wasn't watching them. "Wizarding unions, or marriages," he said, as if he were explaining to a toddler. "Are automatically registered in the Banns Book at the Ministry. These unions are checked every day and the most interesting of which get reported in the Daily Prophet. So, I'm pretty sure, that the whole of England knows by now."

"Oh, crap," Harry said. Snape gave him a look. The look he reserved only for his most sarcastic of WTF are you ON, Potter? lines.

"What do you mean, crap? Just CRAP? Not shit, or goddamn it, or OH NOES MY LIFE HAS ENDED!?" Snape looked incredulous, but Harry just smiled.

"Well, they were going to find out sooner or later. Right, Draco?" But Draco had fainted. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

…

They were never sure  _quite_  how they managed to do it, but by dinner time that day, they were back at Hogwarts. It had been a combination of Apparating, Portkeys and shock horror (for Draco at any rate) Muggle Public Transport.

They were mobbed by crying girls (and boys) as they entered the Great Hall. Dumbledore smiled at them from the Teacher's Table. Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Pansy, Ginny, Colin, Seamus and Neville all ran to greet them.

"Congratulations!" Hermione, Pansy and Ginny squealed in unison.

"Yeah, mate, nice one," Ron said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. Blaise put his arms around both of them and they all headed towards what had been the Gryffindor table. It could have been any house table now though, given the number of other house members sitting at it.

Harry was the happiest he could ever remember being. He was surrounded by friends, Voldemort was gone, and his hangover had miraculously disappeared! Oh, and he was married to the man he loved. That counted for a lot of it.

Dumbledore stood up and waved for silence and the hall fell quiet.

"I would just like to extend my congratulations to Mr and Mr Malfoy-Potter! Or is it Potter-Malfoy?" He smiled, his eyes twinkling. Harry and Draco looked at each other and shrugged. They hadn't discussed that yet.

"Potter-Malfoy," Draco said suddenly. Harry cocked his head to the side. "What? It sounds better and I'm vain with things like that." He smirked and Harry smiled.

"Potter-Malfoy it is then!" he said.

….

Several years later…

"Hey, Harry! Remember that time when we-"

"Yes, Seamus. I do." Seamus was drunk. So were Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Snape, Blaise, Pansy, Colin, Ginny, Luna, Dean, that fit Hufflepuff and a whole host of others. It was party time at the Potter-Malfoy house, so of course they were. The liquor never stopped flowing. It didn't have to.

Harry had written his autobiography, " _Scarred_ ", as soon as he left school which had been an instant bestseller. Draco had invented a new hair potion called  _Sexyfine_. (This patented formula combines Sexy molecules with Fine molecules to form the ultimate SEXYFINE molecule. The SEXYFINE is absorbed into the scalp where it makes its way into the blood stream and rearranges your DNA, to take you from ugly, to beautiful (oh, hello there goodlooking)). So they were set for life.

Seamus had gone into the Muggle Entertainment Industry, as predicted at school, and now had his own show: Finnegan's Island. 

Neville was David Attenborough's intern. He was still mastering speaking in front of a camera while precariously standing on some precarious object and holding a plant/small animal at the same time. 

Blaise and Hermione were happily married with their first child on the way. He was an Unspeakable and she worked in the Muggle Affairs Office. 

No one could figure out how it happened, but Ron ended up with Luna. The seemingly unusual couple hit it off after school, Ron having parted ways with Pansy after school ended. 

Colin was a member of the Muggle Paparazzi, able to get the juiciest pictures due to his diligently perfected disillusionment charm. 

Pansy married money in the form of Derrick Bole, the Slytherin ex-beater. They lived happily in their country estate, Paris townhouse, Florida Beach House, California Mansion, South of France Summer House and London penthouse. 

Dean was the new Monet, bringing Impressionism Back and Snape lived in a shed at the bottom of Harry and Draco's garden. (It was more of a cottage than a shed to be fair).They still didn't know why, but he did do a bit of gardening from time to time.

"Oh, hey! I know what we can do!" Ron slurred.

"Whassat?" asked Draco.

"Spin the bottle!"

"What are you, a  _first year Hufflepuff_?" That Fit Hufflepuff frowned slightly. Had they just insulted her? She couldn't tell. It was all very fuzzy.

"Truth or Dare!" Harry called.

"Strip poker!"

"Strip chess!"

"Never have I ever…"

"Sex?"

"That's a good game," Seamus agreed.

"Is not a game. Is serious bisnuss." A lopsided sage nod. "Oomf".

"That's my shoulder," Harry said.

"Is nice shoulder," Draco mumbled into said shoulder.

"I think you need to go to bed." Draco nodded.

"Bed with you."

The phone rang, breaking the suddenly sleepy silence. They all let it ring, too lazy/inebriated/asleep/passed out to answer. The answering machine picked up the call after several rings.

"Jolly bananas! You have reached the Sexy Potter-Malfoy's residence. Thank you for calling! We feel horny when we get phone calls unless, of course, you are female. Joke. We are currently not home, in the Malfoy Manor, or we just don't want to talk to you because we're too busy... Well, you know. So, please, leave a message, your name, your number, and your "wand" size and we will get back to you as soon as possible! If you are calling for Harry, please say Pirate at the beginning of your message. If you are calling for Draco, please say Dragon at the start of your message. If you are calling for both of us just leave the message. Have a sexalicious day!"

Harry gave a sideways glance at Draco.

"Have you been changing the answering machine messages again?" he asked.

"No?" Draco gave him what he thought was a winning smile.

"You know what this means."

"Role play time?" Draco asked, looking hopeful. Harry spluttered.

"Me telling you off isn't roleplay!"

"It so is. Always ends in sex."

"Oh. Good point."

"So…" Draco said, poking Harry in the stomach. "Roleplay time? Yes or yes?"

"Alright then. Goodnight you all." A mumbled assortment of G'nights reached them. "Come on you," Harry said and pulled Draco in the direction of the bedroom.

FIN


End file.
